Reflections
by Thrythlind
Summary: Xellos and Amelia fix a magical artifact that Lina had once destroyed. The results are frightening.
1. Strange Reflections 1

  
Reflections  
  
  
  
Strange Reflections: 1  
  
  
  
Amelia passed by Xellos's room, it was on the way to her room after all, and just happened to glance into the open door. She caught a glimpse of the mazoku given careful attention to something on the inn room's desk. She paused for a moment, and looked to see him in deep concentration over something.   
"What's he doing?" she wondered. She continued on towards her room, stopped again, looked back at the open door and blinked. She shook her head as if to clear it. "It has nothing to do with me, whatever it is." She walked forward again, determinedly and vanished around the corner of the hall to her room.  
Within a moment her foot steps receded into background noise, stopped, and then came rushing back at a fast walk. Amelia blurred by a maid on her way back to the mazoku's room.  
"So what prank are you planning now Xellos?" Amelia demanded. Xellos flinched as he dropped two pieces of glass. Well, he knew when she had passed before that curiousity was going to get the better of her. He just sort of wished that she had held out longer.  
"Well several actually," Xellos admitted. "But this isn't one of them."  
"And how can I trust that you are telling the truth?"  
"Have I ever told such an outright and obvious lie as that?"  
"So what are you doing then?" she asked.  
"Sore wa.."  
"Life is wonderful. Life is wonderful. Life. Is. Won. Der. Ful."  
"I'm trying to put this mirror back together," he said quickly, gesturing at the glues and various pieces of glass and metal.  
"Mirror? How'd it break?"  
"I'm not sure, found it in pieces a few years ago after one of Lina-chan's battles," he answered. "It has a great deal of magical power, and I'm curious as to what its supposed to do."  
"Should you be playing around with something like that without knowing what it does?"  
"Probably not," he answered cheerfully. "But it makes an interesting past time."  
"Have you ever considered asking a white mage to fix it for you?"  
"But what white mage is going to do a favor for a..." he watched as Amelia arched an eyebrow. "Oh...Amelia, would you do me the favor of mending this mirror for me?"  
"Sure!" she answered cheerfully with her eyes closed. "All you had to do was ask." Xellos sighed in exasperation as he let Amelia magically piece together the broken mirror. She finished within twelve minutes what he had been trying to do for the last several years. Well at least the mirror was put back together.  
"Okay," he picked up the large mirror and turned it over, examining it. "Now how's it supposed to work."  
"Maybe," Amelia leaned in close behind him. She had to in order to get a good look. Fortunately neither of them noticed or they would have been distracted. Maybe they would have even broken the mirror again. Oh, wait a minute, that would have been a good thing.  
"Maybe it's this jewel here," Amelia suggested. "The one that looks like a button."  
"The one you just pressed?" Xellos asked dryly.  
"Uh?" Suddenly both were encompassed in a blinding light. In an instant it was gone and the room suddenly seemed darker than it had before.  
"That was interesting," Xellos said. "I wonder what just happened."  
"Yeah, that was weird."  
"L-sama damn it!" Xellos looked at Amelia in surprise, the princess just blinked and looked back in confusion.  
"Oh my, Amelia-sama, you shouldn't use such profanity." Xellos and Amelia turned about to see a pair of people standing behind them that looked, dressed, and sounded like them.  
"Ahhh!!! Its a mazoku!!" the other Xellos back-pedalled into a corner and cowered there. The real Xellos sweatdropped and began twitching uncontrolablly.  
"I can't believe that you ACTUALLY wear these clothes," the other Amelia complained in a sultry voice. "With a body like this why would you want to hide under these thick wools?" The real Amelia's mouth hung open in shock.  
"I'll tell you anything you want, just don't hurt me!"  
"Oh my, aren't you the gorgeous hunk of mazoku."  
"AAAHHHH!!!!!" Xellos and Amelia screamed in unison.  
"Hey guys, what's going on up here?" Lina's voice called out. The second Xellos scrambled over and stuck his head out the door.  
"Lina-chan," the Amelia copy said coyly, licking her lips. She looked from Xellos to where Lina's voice had come as if in indecision. The real Amelia face faulted.  
"Oh Lina-san, there's a scary," the real Xellos pulled himself out of his shock long enough to pull the copy Xellos back in the room and stick his own head out the window.  
"Oh, everything is alright in here Lina," he called out, sweatdropping. "Amelia was just giving one of her justice speeches again."  
"Oh, Lina-chan..hey!" the Amelia called out as the original pulled her back away from the door.  
"We're fine Lina, never mind us!" Amelia called out. Xellos smiled once and then shut the door quickly.  
"Well that was weird," Lina said. "That mazoku better not be doing anything to her. Hey, Amelia, I'm taking a bath if you need me!"  
Amelia breathed a sigh of relief as the door closed, then felt something grab her from behind.  
"Oh, Amelia-sama, don't let the monster hurt me!" Amelia tried to answer and couldn't barely finding the breath to gasp as she felt her arm and a rib snap.  
"LET GO OF HER NOW!" Xellos shouted, and the copy released a nearly crushed Amelia. "Hey you get over here and heal her." The copy Xellos skittered away and curled himself into a fetal position.  
"Oh let her heal herself," the copy Amelia sniffed. "Or go get that frigid dragon queen."  
"Listen you little..."  
"I've got it," Amelia coughed.  
"Are you certain?" She gave a thumbs up as her breathing became easier.  
"Oh my, a hunk and considerate," copy Amelia noted, sauntering up to Xellos. "And how are you in..."  
"Don't you dare say it, you unjust imitation!"  
"You know, dear," the princess heard her own voice whispering in her ear. "If you want me to yourself, you just had to ask. I might as well start with familiar territory anyway." A hand brushed past her breast, eliciting a blush and then sudden movement from Amelia.  
"Let go of me you doppleganger!" Amelia shouted rocketing across the room.  
"No wonder you've never been able to sack that chimera," the copy Amelia hmphed from where she fell on the floor.  
"'Familiar territory?' why Amelia-chan, what _have _you been doing in your spare time?" The real Xellos asked, Amelia turned a brighter red.  
"Not as much as _I'd_ like to be doing, right now," the copy Amelia hmphed again.  
"Hey you, cease these un-civilized behaivors, this instant."  
"Don't hurt me! Don't hurt me!"  
"Oh you poor thing, just come over here and mommy will protect you from the evil mazoku."  
"Don't even think about it!" Xellos and Amelia shouted. The copy Amelia hmphed again.  
"What's a girl got to do for a little fun around here?"  
"Ack!"  
"Would you quit that! We're not going to hurt you!" Xellos shouted.  
"You're not?"  
"No we're not." Amelia said.  
"Oh, well then, hello, I'm Xellos Metallium," he grabbed Xellos's hand and shook vigorously. "Though you already know that. And I guess you already know all about Master's plan to..." Xellos covered the copy's mouth.  
"If any of my secrets get out without my permission then I will hunt you down and kill you!"  
"AHHH!!!!" The Xellos copy returned to his corner in the fetal position.  
"Xellos," Amelia called him over and they paired up across the room from the copies. "What are we going to do about them?"  
"Well, I considered just destroying them, but I really don't know what that would do to us...so."  
"Well we can't just kill them, they are living creatures."  
"What are you talking about, they're.....gone."  
"What?!?" Amelia shrieked. "Where'd they go?" Both ran out and checked the hallway.  
"You know, I think I know where you're copy went," Xellos muttered. Amelia looked confused for a moment and then blushed beet red.  
"Oh no, Lina-san, the baths!"  
  
"Well, whatever it was Xellos was doing with her," Lina thought. "It couldn't have been too bad, she wouldn't be so relaxed other wise."  
"How's that Lina-san," the girl she thought was Amelia asked. While thinking, "How can she bear to talk like that ALL the time?"  
"Oh, that feels great, Amelia," Lina sighed. "Where'd you learn to give such a good massage?"  
"Oh, here and there," the copy Amelia answered cheerfully. She began shifting her grip.  
"She's not...is she?...nah, this is Amelia," Lina sighed.  
"You like that Lina-san," she asked. Lina narrowed her eyes at the now obviously sultry tone to the voice.  
"Yeah, that's good, are you okay Amelia?"  
"I'm fine, then you like that," shadow Amelia said. "How about this?" Lina stood up immediately and jumped away as soon as she recovered from the surprise of feeling Amelia's hand between her legs.  
"What's gotten into you Amelia!" Lina shouted, blushing madly.  
"Not a virgin?" the shadow Amelia pouted, and Lina's already red skin deepened. "Oh my, that's a disappointment, but then its been SUCH a disappointing evening. So was the blonde any good?"  
"Lina-san!" the sorceress turned to the sound of Amelia's voice coming from outside the baths. She looked from where the bath door was opening and Amelia was coming in frantically to where Amelia sat, nude in the water. She looked back and forth several times, only getting more confused.  
"Oh, damn, its the little party pooper," the shadow Amelia hmphed.  
"Get dressed and start behaving now!"  
"Yeah, yeah," the shadow complained, picking up her clothes. She goosed Lina on her way past the sorceress, who was fortunately too confused to retaliate. "Catch you later red."  
"Get dressed BEFORE you walk outside!" Amelia shouted. The copy Amelia rolled her eyes, turned about and kissed the real Amelia a full and passionate kiss. This proved too much for Lina who fell back in a faint.  
"Give some thought to my earlier offer," she said to Amelia's burning and scandalized face. Amelia didn't even notice the copy walk outside still mostly unclothed.  
"Get off me you hentai, mazoku-freak!" Zelgadis's voice cried out.   
"Oh Zel-kun, don't let the nasty mazoku hurt me!"  
"Fruit cake, what are you bloody talking...Amelia!? what the....why are you naked." Amelia pulled out of her paralyzing rage and shame at that last comment, and abandoned the unconscious Lina.  
"Well, I was on my way to ask you something," her twin was saying. "But you seem to be busy. Unless you don't mind a third."  
"It's not like that! It's not..."  
"I said get dressed first you harlot!" Amelia was virtually roaring as she came out into the hallway.  
"Keep your voice down," the shadow Amelia complained. "Do you always have to yell?"  
"Hey can you guys make less noise?" Gourry asked stepping out of his room.  
"Yes, you are all making quite a...ahhh!!" Filia gasped as she came around and saw the scene. "Zelgadis-san, what are you doing?"  
"Its not what it looks like!" Zelgadis shouted desperately.  
"I can't seem to find the other copy...oh there he is," Xellos said irritably.  
"AAHH!!! Gourry-san kill the mazoku before he hurts me!" Amelia regarded him angrily as he cowered behind the swordsman.  
"I suppose you're looking to lay everything that moves too," Amelia sniped.  
"Of course not," the shadow Xellos snapped nervously. "Carnal love is wrong." Everybody face faulted.  
"What's going on here!" Everybody looked to see Lina and the glowing red aura around her. "I count a Xellos and an Amelia too many! And one of those girls tried something with me that is going to get her a LOT of pain."  
"Oh, Lina-san, that evil copy tried to take advantage of my innocence!" the dressing Amelia cried out. "She's a woman of loose morals! We should smite her with the hammer of justice!!"  
"What?!?"  
"FLARE ARROW!!" an arrow of fire struck the speaking Amelia and the charred copy looked at Lina with a shocked and surprised expression. "Like I'm that stupid. Now...WHAT HAPPENED?"  
"Well Amelia repaired this magical relic for me," Xellos started, deciding that his standard response would get him REALLY hurt. "And while we were looking it over, we activated it." Lina sighed and investigated the floor.  
"It wouldn't have been a mirror, would it?" The sorceress asked.  
"Why, yes," Amelia answered. "Why?" Lina was smashing her head into the wall and sobbing in frustration. Then she turned to face what she hoped were the real Xellos and Amelia.  
"I DESTROYED THAT THING FOR A REASON YOU TWITS!!!"   
  
  
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	2. Strange Reflections 2

  
Reflections  
  
  
  
Strange Reflections: 2  
  
  
  
"So you know what's going on here then," Zelgadis asked Lina.  
"Wait, I'm going to kill Amelia's shadow real quick," Lina snapped.  
"Oh, come now, Lina-chan," the crispy shadow coughed. "Was it really so   
bad? You did say you liked it."  
"What is she talking about, Lina?" Gourry asked. Lina snarled and   
restrained herself from doing anything that might drag on the conversation.  
"You twisted little..."  
"You know, if you're nice," the shadow licked her lips. "I might show   
just how twisted I can get." Everybody but Gourry and the real Xellos   
blushed.  
"Where's the mirror Xellos?" Lina growled at the mazoku.  
"What is this mirror you're talking about, Lina-san?" Filia asked. "I   
demand that you tell me this instant!"  
"Hey, is it this thing?" Lina, the Xellos's, and Amelia's turned to see   
Gourry holding the shadow reflector. They all vacated the hallway.  
"Gourry, put that down!" Lina shouted from somewhere.  
"Really, Lina-san," Filia was saying. "You don't really think that he   
can figure out how to..." there was a bright flash of light. "...activate a   
magical artifact." Lina peeked around a corner and saw two Zelgadis's and   
two Filia's.  
"You were saying?" a Zelgadis grumbled.  
"I'm sorry Zelgadis-san," a Filia bowed submissively before him. "I   
should have known that he would accidently..."  
"Have some back bone!" a thoroughly freaked out Filia snapped.  
"Would you look at these dusty old clothes!" snapped one Zelgadis.  
"What's wrong with those clothes?"   
"Oh Filia-sama, please accept my humble apologies..."  
"QUIT THAT!"  
"I might as well not be here with clothes like this."  
"And what would you rather be wearing."  
"Something to accentuate my fine features and drive the women to their   
knees at my presence." Xellos and Filia screamed.  
"Now he's my kind of guy," the shadow Amelia declared, leaning against   
Xellos.  
"Yes, I imagine so," Xellos said snidely.  
"Umm excuse me, Lina-san," a sheepish Filia asked as soon as she   
determined that the other Filia was in too much a state of shock. "But what   
do we do now?" Lina walked over to Gourry, shadow-Filia following behind   
like a real shadow.  
"Stop following me," Lina said. "Go stand over there or something."  
"Okay, Lina-san," the shadow dragon bowed and stoof in roughly the spot   
Lina had pointed.  
"She does whatever you tell her too," Xellos noted.  
"This has potential," shadow Amelia finished the thought.  
"Don't even think about it," Amelia snapped.  
"Jealous?" they both asked.  
"Hmm, fine then," one Zelgadis said regarding the still out of it dragon   
maid.   
"What?" Filia asked blinking back to reality. "Zelgadis what are..." she   
recovered her normal officious manner. "What do you think you are doing!"  
"I will content you with a kiss from these almost godly lips of..."   
Something grabbed his wire hair and pulled him back.  
"Over my dead body," the other Zelgadis growled.  
"Such an uncivilized manner of dealing with things," the other Zelgadis   
laughed. "Perhaps we should settle this in a court of law."  
"Give me the mirror Gourry," Lina commanded.  
"Huh? Okay," he handed it over, and Lina dropped on the ground, letting   
it smash to pieces.  
"The one thing we don't need is a shadow Gourry." Lina grumbled.   
Somebody dropped a hand on her shoulder and the already enraged Lina Inverse   
snapped.  
"DRAGU SLAVE!"  
  
"I can't believe that you Dragu Slaved that village, Lina-san," Amelia,   
the real Amelia, said.  
"Hey, I found us another inn, didn't I?" she snapped. "Besides, this is   
all yours and Xellos's fault."  
"Yes, what ever did possess you to mess around with a magical relic?"   
Zelgadis asked.  
"I don't know, it just seemed like an interesting project," Amelia sighed.  
"Yes, well, that brings to mind the room arrangements for this evening,"   
Xellos coughed.  
"Well, since there seems to be no point to hiding it," Lina growled,   
glaring at the shadow Amelia. "Me and Gourry can share a room. The Filia's   
can share a room, so can the Xellos's and Zelgadis's, and" Everybody looked   
at the shadow Amelia.  
"What? I don't care who you put me with," she said.  
"That's the problem." Filia asserted  
"I'll take her," Amelia sighed.  
"Why, Amelia-chan," the shadow smiled.  
"I didn't mean like that! you pervert!" The shadow Amelia shrugged.  
  
The night proceeded at a rather hectic rate. Lina thankfully slept   
through the whole ruckus next to Gourry. But the others were not so lucky.  
"How can you just sit here and sleep when such a beautiful flower sleeps   
in one of these nearby rooms?"  
"Shut up before I kill you," Zelgadis's muffled voice called out from   
under his pillow.  
"I sincerely doubt that you have the capability to kill yourself in any   
manner."  
"Do you want this bed, Filia-san?"  
"That's fine."  
"Oh I'm sorry, did you want the other one?"  
"Either one is fine."  
"I can't decide, will you please pick for me Filia-san?"  
"Quit cowering a corner over there," Xellos grumbled. "You're   
embarrassing me."  
"Please sir, I don't mean to be a bother, I have no idea why I'm here."  
"Quit acting like a nurse maid and start acting like a mazoku!"  
"But I don't wanna!"  
"There now, see I can behave."  
"Ahh, that does feel good."  
"So why don't you just relax and think about purple hair, closed eyes and   
a big smile."  
  
Lina and Gourry came down to breakfast to see an interesting sight. The   
shadow Filia was looking over a menu while Filia yelled, "JUST PICK   
SOMETHING!" In response the shadow pointed to several different entrees.  
"This is nice, but this looks good too. Which do you think I should try?"  
"Why are you asking me? It's your decision."  
"But, I just can't decide, you decide for me."  
"He's...staring at me?"  
"Fool! You're a poweful being! Stop acting like a baby!"  
"Ah lovely Filia, who's golden hair inspires..."  
"Zelgadis,"  
"zzzz...hmm?...oh," Zelgadis smashed his double.  
"Thank you."  
"No pro...zzzzzz....."  
"I hope you had a better night than I did Amelia-chan," Xellos mumbled.  
"Oh, we did," the shadow Amelia said, looking like the cat that swallowed   
the canary.  
"I can't believe I did that," Amelia thought to herself, recalling last   
night.  
  
"Ame...what do I call you anyway, can't keep calling you my name, can we?"  
"Just call me Tes, then, and your supposed to be relaxing so I can work   
thse stress knots out of your back."  
"Oh, right," she turned back on her face and sighed at her double's   
gentle hands.  
"Just relax, think about that dream from a week ago," her double paused a   
moment in her movements. "You know, the one where you walk into the wrong   
side of the baths and find HIM there."  
"Oh yeah, he's there," Amelia sighed, almost hypnotised.  
"And you start to leave, embarrassed," the voice was whispering softly in   
her ear.  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come in over here," Amelia muttered. Then   
she remembered, he blocked her way, and leaned down to kiss her. That was   
usually where she woke up and turned over to pleasure herself as the dream   
couldn't.  
It was odd though, she could already feel someone caressing her. Her   
eyes snapped up, the other Amelia! She turned around on her back in order to   
tell her to stop, and then found her lips meeting the others.  
"This was the same," she thought to herself. "No different than doing it   
myself, because it is me." So she sighed, and arched her back.  
"Coming around then, princess," the other Amelia asked as she bent to   
suckle at one of Amelia's nipples. The next thing Amelia knew, she was   
waking up wrapped up with her double in her arms.  
  
"Amelia, are you okay?"  
"Oh yes, I'm fine, Lina-san," Amelia assured her quietly.   
  
  
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	3. Strange Reflections 3

  
Reflections  
  
  
  
Strange Reflections: 3  
  
  
  
"Well, this obviously isn't going to work," Lina sighed. "I doubt you   
all like travelling with your shadows anymore than I did."  
"Did you say, your shadow?" Zelgadis asked.  
"Damn it," Lina snapped.  
"This has happened to you then, Lina-san?" Filia asked. "What did you do   
with your shadow?"  
"She went off with the other shadow that came about from that disaster,"   
Lina waved it aside, and then brought back the discussion to the problem at   
hand. "Now, we have to figure out what do to with your shadows." Everybody   
nodded, and for once let the matter drop, they could bug her about it after   
they dealt with their own problems.  
"The problem isn't so much that we can't think of a way to get rid of   
them," Zelgadis noted. "As I doubt that any of us are willing to kill them."  
"We can't do that," Amelia protested. Then continued shyly. "It would   
be wrong, unjust to kill them just because we...don't approve of them."  
"I can think of other reasons to kill some of them," Lina thought as she   
watched Amelia.  
"Why not just let them go on their own way?" Gourry asked.  
"Because Zelgadis-san's and Amelia-san's shadows are perverts," Filia   
explained. Amelia blushed and sank into her chair, while Zelgadis just   
narrowed his eyes.  
"Actually, I think Gourry is right on this one," Lina said.  
"So, we just tell them to go on their way," Zelgadis repeated curiously.   
"And ignore the possible consequences."  
"I can just imagine my poor shadow being seduced by one of those two sex   
crazed hentai," Filia said. "She has absolutely no will of her own."  
"It could be worse, couldn't it?" Amelia asked sheepishly.  
"They're personalities will calm down after a little while," Lina said,   
taking the attention away from Amelia. "They'll level out to something more   
realistic."  
"I suppose this means that you've seen your shadow sometime after she   
left."  
"Briefly, she runs an inn somewhere. She still whiny, nervous and   
completely non-violent, but she's not as bad as when she first woke up."  
"They're adults, they can make their own decisions," Gourry shrugged as   
if that was obvious.  
"Okay, so that's that then," Zelgadis said.  
"Where is that namagomi?" Filia asked, looking around.  
"I'm more worried about what our shadows are doing, while we're here,"   
Zelgadis said. "But since we'll be letting them go off on their own   
anyway..."  
"Fine, let's get on with it then," Lina said. "Amelia, could I talk to   
you? Gourry go on with Zelgadis and Filia."  
"Okay, Lina," the swordsman shrugged and walked off with the other two.   
Zelgadis and Filia looked over there shoulders, but held back any questions.  
"What is it Lina-san?" Amelia asked, shyly. Lina waited for the others   
to be completely out of sight, before answering.  
"You slept with her didn't you?"  
"Well, she was in the same room, so..."  
"Don't give me that," Lina said. "She's practically broadcasting it with   
her attitude, and you're acting like a scared deer." Amelia slumped.  
"Yes, but how is that different from...you know," and she blushed and   
gestured demonstratively.  
"This isn't the same as sticking your hand between your legs," Lina   
snapped, quietly but angrily. "She is not you, she just looks like you! So   
how did this happen?"  
"She was giving me a back rub, and talking about this dream I have   
sometimes," Amelia said sheepishly. "And well, she took over at the point   
that I usually...take matters in my own hands, and....I don't know why I let   
her do that to me." She was about to break down. Lina hugged her and patted   
her back.  
"It's the past now," Lina said. "Don't worry about too much about it,   
now let's go find Xellos and your double and tell her to take a hike, okay."  
"Okay," she sniffed.  
  
"Why are you making us go?" the shadow Xellos whimpered. "I need you to   
protect me from all these bandits and sorcerers." Zelgadis looked down at   
the Xellos wrapped around his legs and sweatdropped.  
"You're one of the most powerful beings on this planet," he said. "You   
can protect yourself."  
"But I could get hurt!"  
"Excuse me," Gourry addressed the shadow Xel. "but why are you glomped   
to Zel's leg?"  
"Because Zel-kun is so strong, surely he can protect me!"  
"Hey, do you know why Xellos is always saying Sore wa himitsu desu?"  
"Yes, but he'll kill me if I tell."  
"Oh, who is going tell me what to do?" the shadow Filia whined. "You   
know I can't make up my mind."  
"LEARN!!" snapped Filia, and her shadow started bursting into tears.  
"It would certainly be a relief to get away from my...uncivilized other,"   
the shadow Zelgadis sniffed. "And I am certainly capable of protecting such   
a lovely lady as yourself," he took the shadow Filia's hand, she calmed down   
and looked to him nervously. "So don't fear milady." He kissed her on the   
hand and she blushed furiously.  
"Watch your step, lover boy," Filia grumbled, wielding her mace.  
"Oh, there you guys are," Lina joined the little get together. "So   
you've told them?"  
"To mixed reactions," Zelgadis grumbled.  
"Get off of Zel's leg and get ready to travel to whereever you want to   
go, or I'll fireball the both of you." Zel and the shadow Xellos eyes popped   
wide, but the shadow Xel let go and backed his way to the other two shadows.   
"Okay, Amelia, let's go find...hey where'd she go?"  
  
"Looking for someone, highness?" the shadow Amelia rolled her eyes and   
the turned to face Xellos.  
"Really, Xel-chan," she answered. "All I'm doing is collecting some   
things, before we leave. And call me Tes, I'll let Ame-chan do the princess   
thing." She leaned on him and idly began tracing circles on his chest.  
"Speaking of Ame-chan," the mazoku said as if the thought had just   
occured to him. "You wouldn't know why she is acting rather jumpy today.   
Would you?" Tes released a sigh of frustration, and pushed away from him.  
"I'd thought you'd be a little more fun," she complained, hands on her   
hips. "Or do I detect a hint of jealousy? Your role of corrupter of the   
innocent being taken over?"  
"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Xellos responded cheerfully. "You're a little   
too single-minded to be really effective at my job."  
"Give me time," she breathed, smiling saucily. "I've got eighteen years   
of sexual poverty to make up for first. And you're not helping."  
"I see," Xellos said, smiling as normal. "Well sorry about that, but you   
see I spent the first several hundred years of my life around women like you,   
and its gotten quite boring."  
"Boring?!" she snapped angrily.  
"I will admit that you have been providing me with a wonderful feast."  
"So I'm only exciting to you as a meal?" she growled. "You prefer some   
virginal, little bundle of energy? Well you can't have it now can you? I   
got there first! So if you'll excuse me, since you're as much of a prude as   
your double, I'll see if I can find one of the Zelgadis's" She walked down   
the cooridor a few feet only to find herself blocked by the mazoku again.  
"You don't know much about your original, do you?" he said cheerfully.  
"Oh, I know everything about her," she retorted. "We have the same   
memories." "That is hardly what I meant," Xellos answered. "You are going   
to stay away from Amelia from now on."  
"Isn't that her decision?" Xellos laughed quietly.  
"Learned that argument already," Xellos mused. "I'm impressed. The   
matter remains, however, and I'm sure Lina-chan will agree with me." Xellos   
smiled at the stab of fear that stabbed through the copy.  
"Your not talking to Ame-chan though, are you?" she jabbed his chest,   
speaking quietly, confidently. "I got her once, now she's mine. I know how   
her mind works. What she was willing to do once, she'll be willing to do   
again."  
"My dear, I'm happy to say that neither of us is ever going to understand   
how her mind works." Tes laughed.  
"Tell me that again when YOU'VE tasted her," she said viciously. "She   
tastes like cream, did you know that, cream and spices."  
"Don't touch her again, beast," Xellos repeated, before vanishing. Tes   
continued walking down the hall, laughing low in the throat. She stopped   
laughing when a near to tears Amelia rounded the corner and slapped her.  
"You are not going to touch me, again!" she snapped. Tes smiled as she   
turned to face Amelia.  
"You've said something like that before," she reminded.  
"I mean it this time," Amelia retorted.  
"Oh do you now?" Tes grabbed Amelia and pressed her against the wall,   
staring in satisfaction at the confused look in her eyes. She leaned in   
against Amelia and began caressing and kissing her. "You know what I told   
your precious Xellos is right, you are mine."  
"Let go of me," Amelia snapped a knee into her double and tried to break   
away. But Tes recovered quickly and rammed her into the wall again. "You   
wouldn't do anything here..not where you can be seen."  
"Your friends are busy with something, and I can handle anybody else.   
You're mine," she smashed Amelia's head back. "And nothing you or anyone   
says or does can change that." She tore open the dazed princess's tunic and   
forced her mouth over Amelia's as tthe princess gasped for breath. Tes   
caught a flailing hand and forced it down out of the way, the other remained   
trapped between Amelia and the wall.  
"Amelia, where'd you...hey!" Tes whirled in time to see Lina smash a fist   
into her face. The sorceress proceeded to pummel the shadow all the way down   
the hallway. The shadow tumbled on the ground and looked up in fear as the   
sorceress gathered power between her hands. Tes was too battered and stunned   
to think of a counter, she could only watch in fear.  
"Lina stop!" Amelia stood up. Xellos appeared again back to Amelia.  
"I see you had the..." he felt the other bundle of emotions behind him   
and turned to see Amelia. His eyes narrowed. "I believe I made myself clear   
before, you little bitch."  
"NO!!" They faced Amelia. "She leaves, but don't kill her. If Lina's   
right, she's immature right now, and she'll get better. Justice calls for   
punishment AND mercy."  
"Fine," Lina said. "But if she shows her face again, I'll rip her heart   
out."  
"As for the punishment," Xellos said with barely withheld anger. He   
reached out and touched the terrified shadow's face. His finger glowed   
darkly as he struck a bleeding line from the tip of her ear to the edge of   
her chin. "No white spell will keep that from scarring, we'll always know   
you when we see you."  
"Fine," she spat angrily. Shielding the terror she felt for these two,   
as well as the confusion that the princess hadn't just let them kill her.   
"I'll go, but I will be back eventually, and then you'll all be sorry." She   
stomped away down the hall and into the common room, streaming blood from the   
cut. From there they didn't know or care where she went.  
"I may have provoked her," Xellos said sorrowfully, watching as Lina   
draped her cloak around Amelia. "I had hoped she was coward as well as a   
slut. If I hadn't said anything she may have just gone on to another   
conquest."  
"Xellos, there are many things you deserve to die for," Lina said. "This   
isn't one of them. Are you sure you're fine Amelia?"  
"I wasn't prepared," Amelia said. "If she tries again I'll know better   
and THAT will give her a surprise."  
"This isn't..."  
"I know its not my fault, Lina-san," Amelia said, a shadow of her normal   
cheer in place. "I'll be fine, why don't you go help the others with telling   
the shadows what's going on. I'd like to thank Xellos-san for trying to   
protect me."  
"Sure, if you're alright," Amelia nodded quietly, and then watched as   
Lina reluctantly left to go look for everybody else.  
"Amelia?" The princess almost immediately collapsed, crying, into the   
mazoku. He could feel her emotions anyway, why bother hiding them.  
"I was helpless," she whimpered. "I couldn't make myself hurt her. If   
Lina hadn't caught up with me...she would have..."  
"She's gone now Amelia, don't think about it," he said. He patted her   
head and noticed that his gloves came back red. It wasn't a serious injury,   
but still. For a moment his anger flared again, but that wasn't useful here.   
"Now let's go get you cleaned up and forget about this okay?"  
"Okay," she sniffed and let Xellos teleport her to the baths. He gave   
her as much privacy as he was willing to with her shadow still around, and   
collected a replacement tunic for her. Xellos was angry, she'd been hurt,   
trully hurt. Not just annoyed, or frightened like he'd done to her quite   
often, but hurt. She'd recover, he knew her well enough for that, but it   
didn't change the fact that it had happened. And against his better   
judgement the architect of that was still breathing.  
  
"Okay, Amelia's shadow is already gone," Lina said angrily.  
"Why? What happened?"  
"What Amelia is gone?" Gourry shouted. "Where'd she go?" Lina hit him.  
"Not Amelia, Amelia's shadow! Tes, you moron!"  
"Did she leave on her own?" Filia asked.  
"Sort of," Lina said. "But you'll have to wait for details."  
"Well, travelling with one beautiful flower is better than none," the   
shadow Zel sighed, eliciting a blush from shadow Filia and glares from both   
their originals.   
  
  
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	4. Strange Reflections 4

  
Reflections  
  
  
  
Strange Reflections: 4  
  
  
  
"Damn them," Tes spat as she regarded her reflection in the still water.   
She had considered trying to heal it despite the mazoku's claim, but stopped   
when spell turned the first half-inch of the cut into a thick purplish scar.   
She'd have to let it heal naturally or the thing would dominate her face.   
She slammed her hand into water, scattering her ruined image.  
The shadow turned from the pool and climbed to the top of a boulder and   
sat facing the town. To outsiders she may have seemed serene and calm, and   
beautiful despite the cut on her face. It was only when Lina's party   
appeared at the edges of town that her face was distorted with anger.   
Tes didn't much care about three of them, aside from the physical appeal   
anyway. It was the other three that raised her ire, Lina walking next to the   
blonde swordsman. There was someone she wanted to tear down to the ground   
just before cutting her throat. Then there was the mazoku hovering over her   
Amelia protectively, and Amelia herself of course. The mazoku and Lina were   
problems, both were powerful, more powerful than she was. Maybe she could   
catch one by surprise, but they'd be watching each other's backs.  
She growled as she considered the problem of how to achieve her wrath.   
Meanwhile the slayers came to a fork in the path just beyond town and turn   
down it. Then an idea came to her and she smiled as she watched a second,   
similar group stop outside the town at the same fork.  
"I wonder what Lina and Xellos told them?" she wondered.  
  
"Hey Amelia?" Gourry asked. "Are you okay?"  
"I'm fine Gourry-san," Amelia said cheerfully, before returning to her   
silent appraisal of the passing wilderness. Zelgadis and Filia looked at her   
doubtfully, but said nothing.  
"Leave Amelia alone, Gourry," Lina said. "Now let's hurry it along   
people! If we hurry we might only have to spend one night camping instead of   
two."  
"So where are we going this time?" Xellos asked. "Its not like we have   
any renegade mazoku to put down or anything."  
"Well, I we heard that rumor about some strange magic up in this little   
town," Zelgadis said, well aware of the distraction. "And we were going to   
see if they had a claire bible manuscript."  
"I've been wondering," Filia asked, after looking away from Amelia. "Why   
don't you just go back to the Kataart mountains and ask to see the original   
Claire Bible again?"  
"This isn't getting anywhere," Amelia said suddenly, and stopping. "They   
should know."  
"Ame-chan, you..." Xellos stopped as the nickname triggered a rush of   
emotions.  
"Please don't call me that," Amelia said to Xellos.  
"I was going to let you have a little more time," Lina said.  
"She could come back soon, and they wouldn't know," Amelia pointed out.  
"What should we know?" Gourry asked. "What she?"  
"Amelia's shadow, she tried something, didn't she," Zelgadis guessed.  
"She's calling herself, Tes," Xellos sneered. Amelia nodded.  
"She rap..." Lina was quickly interrupted by Amelia.  
"No, she tried to rape me," Amelia corrected. Then she looked down and   
blushed in shame. "The first time she just...seduced me."  
"First...time," Filia repeated.  
"I don't get it," Gourry said. "They're both girls, you know."  
"THAT is Amelia's business," Xellos noted.  
"She tried the same back rub trick with me," Lina said, flushing angrily   
at the memory. "Before I knew there was another Amelia."  
"She did?"  
"Yeah," Lina said quietly. "In the baths."  
"Where is she?" Gourry demanded.  
"The important thing is that after....Lina-san stopped her," Amelia   
interrupted. "She promised to make us sorry."  
"Hmm, do you think she means to replace Amelia and get at us one at a   
time?" Zelgadis asked.  
"That won't be a possibility for her," Lina smiled darkly.  
"Why not?" Filia asked. "She looks exactly..."  
"No she doesn't," Xellos answered. "There'll be a scar down the right   
side of her space, if she tries to heal it, it will look incredibly bad.   
Even without it I'd know that one over Amelia, though." He cautiously placed   
a hand on her shoulder, afraid of spooking her. Surprisingly she grabbed the   
hand and backed into him. Lina stepped in front of her and waited for   
someone to say something about her friend.  
"I see," Zelgadis said. "If she shows her face again, we take the rest   
of it."  
"Definitely," Gourry said, smiling.  
"Are you sure you want to go on a quest right now?" Filia asked looking   
at both the other women. "That might not be the best idea, maybe just travel   
around and relax for a while."  
"That's pretty much what we're doing anyway," Lina laughed. "We're fine."  
"I hardly call Zelgadis-san's quest for a cure a vacation," Filia   
protested sarcastically.  
"Compared to hunting dark lords," Zelgadis answered, moving closer to   
Filia. Amelia seemed to be more interested in the mazoku at the moment, he   
didn't have to worry about hurting her feelings it seemed. "I'd say she's   
right."  
"So we're still going to this town, Lina," Gourry asked.  
"Of course we are Gourry!" She bounced into him, grabbing his arm and   
skipping ahead. Amelia smiled as the slayers returned to something normal   
for them, there was no condescending pity. There was just the same constant   
attitude of watching each other's backs. Amelia was one of them, just like   
always.  
"She will follow?" Xellos asked her.  
"Hai," she answered quietly. Then she walked forward, Xellos comfortably   
close behind. She noticed that Zelgadis and Filia dropped to behind them,   
but they always did that. She shrugged, not quite recovered yet, but most of   
the way there. She was with her friends, her extended family, what could Tes   
do to her now?  
  
"Which way do we go?" the shadow Filia asked.  
"I don't particularly care where we go," the shadow Zelgadis yawned. "Of   
course it has to be a center of civilization."  
"Yes, a big city, safe and secure," the shadow Xellos asserted.  
"I know a place," they all turned to see Tes standing there, pleasant   
expression stuck to her face.  
"Amelia-san, what happened to you?" the shadow Xellos asked.  
"Oh, somebody got a little frisky," she smiled. "I'd offer to show you   
but I doubt that you'd be interested."  
"What use could such a amoral girl like you be?" shadow Zelgadis, hmphed,   
after looking at her cut face. Tes sauntered up to him, smiling and leaned   
close to whisper so that only he could hear.  
"Who's Ame-chan's father again?" she asked. He smiled slowly.  
"The Crown Prince of Sailoon," he answered, Tes could almost see the gold   
in his eyes. He bowed low before her then. "Amelia-sama, I would be honored   
to escort you to your homeland." He didn't notice the shadow Filia watching   
in sad confusion.  
"Yes, Sailoon!" the shadow Xellos declared. "The perfect place, loaded   
with enchantments for protection, we should be safe there."  
"Are you sure about this?" the shadow Filia asked.  
"Oh definitely Fili-chan," Tes said. "I'm certain of this." The shadow   
Xellos felt the wave of vengence under her pleasant exterior and flinched.  
"Amelia-san, you're scaring me," he said.  
"None of you have anything to fear from me," she answered. "I'm just a   
little human girl."   
  
  
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	5. Shattered Reflections

  
Reflections  
  
  
  
Shattered Reflections  
  
  
  
Amelia's brow furrowed at some uncomfortable thought, known only to her, passed through her mind. Xellos brushed the bangs from her forehead carefully, trying not to wake her. The princess had caught some magically resistant bug a couple of days ago, and their quest for Zel's cure was stalled to wait for the girl to recover. She had spent most of this day in a half-aware fevered daze, and the other slayers were worried. Xellos had spent most of the time in her room, watching for any change.  
"It's bad enough she's being stalked by a copy of herself," Xellos whispered shifting the blankets she had kicked off to cover her again. The mazoku laid a hand on her forehead to check the fever.  
"Let go...me," she mumbled desperately in her sleep. Xellos removed his hand and shook his head angrily. She'd been returning to the same theme off and on the entire day. As he backed off she tossed the covers again, he sighed and replaced them. Surprisingly this time her eyes snapped open and she clutched at the mazoku.  
"Ame...lia," he stopped short of using the old nick name. Amelia's shadow, Tes, had ruined that term. "You're still sick, lie back down."  
"Doin't go again!" she pleaded.  
"I haven't left, I've stayed here," Xellos said.   
"Gracia don't leave me alone! Mom won't wake up!" Xellos sighed again, she didn't recognize him. At least the fever was breaking, so this should have been the worst of it.  
"I won't leave, I promise," Xellos said quietly. Amelia smiled and huggled close to him. Then her forehead crinkled again.  
"I'm not a villian," she whined, pushing off Xellos and falling back on her bed. She slept noiselessly for a while then, with only the occaisional outburst. As the moon reached its xenith outside the fever finally broke and the tossing, turning, and fevered mutterings ended completely.  
"Xellos?" she was awake again, though he knew she was exhausted. He removed a glove to check her forehead. The heavy fever was definitely gone, though she was still a little hot. She grabbed his hand and pulled at him. "I'm cold...could you, hold me?" Xellos smiled at the shy request, relieved that she wasn't hallucinating again. There was also the other hint of desire behind the simple request, but she wasn't really ready to admit that yet, and he wasn't going to force the issue.  
"Of course," he chuckled quietly. Amelia smiled tiredly and moved over to let him lie on the bed next to her. Then she let herself drift off again as he wrapped her up in his arms. Xellos relaxed as she settled into a normal pattern of breath, he nuzzled the back of her head and fell asleep himself, though he didn't really need sleep. He never noticed they had an audience.  
"This isn't at all what I expected," Zelas sighed exasperatedly. "Not that its a bad thing really. I wonder if...no, she's a better ally if she keeps her white magic." The woman hmphed. Sometimes Xellos could be a frustratingly unpredictable child. Now this left the problem of achieving her original goal.  
  
The home-coming of Princess Amelia Wil Tesla Sailoon had been a happy occaision, for Philoniel and the people anyway. Shadow Zelgadis thoroughly enjoyed himself as well, taking in the huge celebration that had followed. The Filia and Xellos shadows, on the other hand, had vanished into the teeming masses of the city. Tes, meanwhile, found herself having to suffer through listening to and making justice speeches.   
The scar was certainly easy to explain, what with the road life the original Amelia led. Gourry and Lina's absences were equally simple to explain. Tes would have liked to smear the whole prudish lot of them, but that would bring attention to the fact that there were two Amelias. She and Ame-chan were too different, if it was known there were two of them, finding the imposter would be pretty easy.  
Then she announced her engagement to Zelgadis Greywords, which produced another round of celebrations and irritating justice speeches. Of course there was some concern about her father's health these days, but everybody was sure he'd be fine. All told, she was making excellent headway at taking over Ame-chan's little country.   
Tes would have liked to know where her other two inhuman companions had vanished to. If the two of them bothered to pay attention to what was going on they would know what she was up to. Then it was just a matter of whether they could come up with enough guts to do anything about it.   
That was a secondary concern, though having some time alone with that dragon would have been enjoyable. The shadow Xellos had managed to keep any opportunities from developing in that regard. There was her Zelgadis, of course, she thought about that and frowned. That hadn't been a seduction the way she prefered, that was a business arrangement. The golddigger was getting money and power out of this, but she was going to have to talk to him about who had the real power.  
Amelia checked herself in the mirror as she considered these events, these conservative white outfits were getting quite tiresome. Though she had been slowly altering her public fashion to something closer to her real tastes. When she was fully in power it wouldn't matter any more, then she could turn her attentions to letting Ame-chan and friends in on her revenge.  
"You summoned me, milady?" she turned to look at a young guardsman and smiled sweetly. He wasn't much older than her and was married to a young woman with deep brown hair. Once she got started, his wife had been fairly imaginative and responsive. Tes hoped that he could live up to the expectations his spouse had set.  
~Dismiss the meat.~ A voice spoke in her mind. She frowned and then sighed expressively.  
"I did, but I suddenly have other matters to attend to," the guardsman bowed and left, unaware of what he had missed out on. "Well, well, well. A mazoku interferring in Sailoon's matters."  
~I can offer you the...~  
"The throne? I'm already arranging that, thank you," she smiled and scanned about the room find a deeper shadow in the corner.  
~I see. Then perhaps there is something else...~  
"Oh, there is," she smiled. "Perhaps you can show your form and we can discuss a pledge. Then perhaps Dynast can succeed where Garv has failed?" A girl bearing a sword walked out into the light with a false smile, she didn't like being found out. This new Amelia was dangerous, unpredictable and vindictive, Sherra wasn't certain what had happened to make her this way, but she approved of the change. It did mean that she had to tread carefully, however.  
Zelas frowned as she watched from the shadows. Dynast seemed to have beaten her to the punch with this copy. Well Zelas could use this as well. She had been building power in preparation of this point since she had finished the creation of Xellos, and she wouldn't let her opportunity die out now. The Beastmaster quietly whispered a spell, a magical suggestion as the sorceress and mazoku general discussed terms of her soon to be pledge of immortality.  
  
Lina stretched and yawned as she walked through the street next to Gourry. Life was good. Amelia was fine again, though she had been tired for a couple of days after recovering. She was spending a lot of time with Xellos, but there didn't seem to be any problem there. Zelgadis and Filia were definitely getting together, and thinking that nobody else knew. Zelgadis had even suggested this stop, showing he wasn't quite as dogged in his pursuit for a cure as he once was. In fact, over the last half-year the only really disturbing event had been the shadow reflector fiasco. Lina counted off the days and decided that they had sent away the shadows a couple of months ago now.  
Meanwhile, Lina had been shopping. Not looking for anything specific, just shopping. It had been so long since she had simply taken the time to browse through a bunch of shops. Well, she hadn't really limited herself to browsing. After all the best part of shopping to her mind was the bargaining. And she had found lots of opportunities today.  
"Hey, Lina," Gourry's muffled voice called out from under what looked like a moving pile of bags. "Did you really have to buy all this stuff?"  
"No, but we have no reall adventure going on and this is so relaxing." She played with a silky, green scarf she had purchased for perhaps half of its real value.  
"But where are we going to put it all?"  
"I'll rig up a dimensional pocket once I have the time," she explained.  
"Excuse me," Lina looked down to see a beggar to her left. "But can you spare a few coins to help a cripple like me?" There was something Lina didn't like about the man.   
Gourry struggled to a stop at her side and she could hear him panting as he stood there with the bags and packages. He couldn't put them down just yet, that would mean having to re-pile them all up again when he had to carry them again.  
"Sure," she said slowly, keeping an eye on him. "Just give me a moment."  
"Whoah, Lina's actually handing out money, this is new." Lina rolled her eyes.  
"Oh leave me alone Gourry," she retorted. She wanted a better look at the guy, and the coin would give her that. "Here you go sir, and I hope you have good lu..." Lina's eyes widened as the beggar caught the coin. She coughed and a trickle of blood flowed out of her surprised mouth.  
"We have all the luck we need, Lina Inverse," a voice whispered behind her. She winced again as the knife was pulled out of her through previously undamaged flesh.  
"Gou...rry..." Lina managed to say before the beggar she had stopped paying attention to stabbed upward with his own knife. So far there had been little noise, and most people were simply walking around them, unaware that someone was being killed within ten feet of them. "He...lp...".  
"What's wrong, Li..." the swordsman dropped the packages obscuring his sight, and immediately saw Lina's stricken expression and the two men with bloody daggers. Lina hit the ground, a blood pool growing out of her wounds. The last thing she saw was a slim blonde woman kneeling down to examine her wounds.  
  
"What do you want namagomi?" Filia demanded, keeping the door behind her closed and standing between it and Xellos.  
"It isn't what I want, its what Juou-sama wants," Xellos informed her pleasantly.  
"Ever so much more wonderful," Filia grumbled. "And what does a dark lord want with me?" She managed to make it sound as if Zelas was entirely unworthy of her attention.  
"Why Filia-san, your sense of humility astounds me."  
"Stop dancing around the issue, you conniving little creature."  
"Patience, patience, Filia-san. These are not things to be rushed through like...."  
"Xellos," Amelia chided him playfully as she past. "Try not to be too injust."   
He smiled at her, pleased to see that she had fully recovered from whatever that illness had been. It pleased him further that she seemed much more like her old self than before. Though she still hadn't gotten past the cuddling stage of their relationship, he had plenty of time. Zelas wanted him to offer her the pledge, but he felt she might bolt when faced with such an extreme option.   
A wordless scream from out in the street froze all three of them in their tracks. A moment later Zelgadis came out of Filia's door, a concerned expression on his face over ruling the chagrin.  
"LINA!!!!" the second voice was undoubtably Gourry's and everybody moved. Xellos and Filia arrived first, targeting in on the scream and teleporting there. There was a crowd of people in the street some watching as Gourry was attacking two disreputable looking men with daggers, and one or two were huddled over a form lying crumpled in a pool of blood.  
"Shimatta!" Xellos shouted and immediately teleported behind one of the men Gourry was about to kill and grabbed the assassin by the back of the neck. "We'll need one of them alive for information." He told the swordsman, who nodded grimmly as his swing took the second man's head.  
"You'll get nothing out of me," the man blared. Xellos restrained himself from lipping the man's head off and settled for "tapping" his head into a wall and stunning him for a moment. Both looked back to where Filia had fought her way to the body and was trying to heal Lina's torn form. Zelgadis and Amelia weren't far behind, and when they saw what had happened their faces paled tremendously.  
"Oh Cephieed, Lina!" Amelia gasped, and kneeled down to help Filia,  
"How did this," Zelgadis looked to the huge pile of packages and grabbed someone trying to loot from the pile. Zelgadis tossed the offender into the crowd and turned angrily to face the peasants. "EVERYBODY GET AWAY FROM HER NOW!!" The villagers took a step back and then retreated fully when Xellos and Gourry backed him up, forming a small perimeter. That taken care of, Zelgadis joined in the healing effort.  
"Its no use," Filia said suddenly.  
"What do you mean," Amelia shouted. "The wounds are closing!"  
"She's right," Zelgadis sighed. "Look at her eyes." Amelia reluctantly looked into the glazed over, shock filled eyes of the sorceress, her spirit was no longer there. It might have already been gone before any of them had reached her. The green scarf was still twirled around her limp hand, but now it was stained red with Lina's blood.   
Gourry broke free from his position, letting Xellos hold the people at bay. He was certainly qualified at radiating fear. He lifted the corpse that had just minutes ago been his friend and lover.  
"No!" he wailed. "She's not dead! She's not here, but she's not dead!""  
"Gourry," Zelgadis laid a hand on the swordsman's shoulder.  
"I should have been more aware," he weeped. "I just didn't think anybody was after us anymore."  
Amelia angrily whirled to face the man that was still in Xellos's rather angry hands. The assassin's eyes grew wide as the princess turned to face him.  
"Your majesty!" Amelia and Xellos froze in sudden realization of who was behind this. Xellos looked at Amelia questionably and she shook her head.  
"Somebody get this trash to the magistrate!" Xellos growled as he tossed the assassin to the ground. A pair of town constables nervously obeyed the order. The mazoku turned to face Amelia. "From here we go back to Sailoon." He said, knowing the thought was in her mind too. Behind them Gourry was cradling Lina's limp body.  
  
She woke up with a start, remembering the pain just before she had passed out. Then there had been a series of strange dreams of being carried away, darkness and an incredible burning sensation that had torn through her body and soul.  
"Filia must have gotten to me in time," Lina concluded.  
The room about her was dark, but she could see fine. As she stood up, Lina realized that she felt taller somehow. Looking about she found a mirror and began walking over to it. Her wings snapped once reflexively and folded to her back.  
"Wait, wings?" She paused and hurried to the mirror, shocked at what she saw. "This isn't my body," she gasped. Lina stood about four inches taller, her hair seemed to be black in the low light, but Lina could tell it was really a sort of midnight blue. Her skin was a pale, alabaster white, and she now walked with an attractive, athletic figure.  
These weren't the changes that most shocked her though. From her forehead two small horns curved up about half a foot. Folded at her back, and shifting nervously, were a pair of great black-feathered wings. Given all this she was hardly surprised at the lengthened canines and slit pupiled eyes. Suddenly she felt someone behind her, and was struck with a sense of loyalty and devotion.  
"Good evening, Xenith Metallium," Zelas said smiling as her new servant turned around. "I hope you like your mazoku form."   
  
  
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	6. Sentimental Reflections

  
Reflections  
  
  
  
Sentimental Reflections  
  
  
  
Zelas had thought the standard bond between a dark lord and his or her   
minion would have restrained Lina some. Just in case she was wrong, she had   
placed some imperatives of a similar nature to strengthen the feelings of   
loyalty. Any of the other slayers could have told Zelas one indisputable   
fact. Lina liking you only meant that she would refrain from causing major   
damage when she got mad.  
"Juou-sama," she had meant to say 'Zelas', "My name is. Lina. Inverse."   
the declaration felt hollow though. She scrunched her eyes in confusion for   
a moment and began looking inward, investigating the astral signature most   
wizards referred to as their "true name".  
"Not any more," Zelas said pleasantly. She felt the rising anger, but it   
was only a simmer right now. Really, considering the layers of magical   
suggestion on the new mazoku it was amazing that she could engender even that   
match rage.  
"You changed my true name," she said slowly.   
"You were dead by the time I reached you," she explained. "I had to   
reincarnate you. I did manage to catch the soul before you lost much of your   
memory."  
"You, you KILLED me!!!" The wings on Xenith's back began snapping   
irritably, and   
"Uhh...."   
"Then you rip my soul OUT of my body, take me away from my friends, and   
tamper with my CORE BEING!!!" Zelas immediately inacted one of the   
safeguards she had placed on Xenith, and blocked the new mazoku's power   
before she could do something stupid, like casting a spell.   
Not that Zelas was worried for herself, though she had given Xenith a   
great deal of power, but if she might not be used to her new power level yet.   
If she cast a spell in the middle of a rage it could have vastly more effect   
than originally intended.  
"What did you just do to me?" Xenith asked.  
"If I cut all the restraints, will you behave?" Xenith's wings flipping   
around in front. She sat crosslegged on the floor and sighed.  
"Yes, Juouu-sama," she agreed.  
"Good girl," Zelas patted her on the head. Xenith felt her power   
returned, and also felt most of those artificial emotions vanish. She still   
had a deep devotion and affection for the blonde dark lord that was sitting   
in the chair she had collapsed in front of. "Now I'll make this quick   
because Xellos will be realizing he has new a sister anytime now, and I'm not   
sure I want him to know who it is yet. I didn't have you killed."  
Zelas waved a hand and revealed a bedroom, with two occupants. At first   
glance Xenith thought it was Zelgadis and Amelia, then she saw the scar   
across the Amelia's face.  
"Tes," Xenith growled  
"The little sorceress is dead, Zel-kun!" she giggled as she watched   
Gourry cradling Lina's body through her own scrying portal. "Those assassins   
you hired to kill me really know their job well."  
"Yes, dear," the shadow Zelgadis sounded bored. Then Tes looked confused   
and scanned the room stopping to meet with Zelas's eyes. The dark lord cut   
the effect before Tes could deternine that she wasn't imagining things.  
"So you didn't kill me, you just waited for me to die?"  
"Your not dead, dear, Lina is," she patted the mazoku's shoulder,   
comfortingly. "You have Lina's soul, personality, and memories, but this is   
your next life, and you're Xenith now."  
"Can I talk to Gourry at least?" she asked Zelas, resting her head on the   
dark lord's knee.  
"Yes," Zelas sighed, patting the horned head softly. "But not the way   
you'd like." She wasn't going to have Xenith's heart broken if she were to   
discover that the swordsman hadn't really been in love with her, or vice   
versa. Heart broken mazoku were quite annoying to deal with. If what Lina   
and Gourry had was love, then he would love her as Xenith without having to   
be told it was Lina.  
"What do you mean?"  
"You are to tell nobody who you were," Zelas admonished.  
"But...." she lifted up her head to look at Zelas.  
"Not even Xellos."  
"Yes Juuou-sama," she sighed.  
"Good, then I think its time to give you your first assignment," Zelas   
said cheerfully. "You are going to travel with the slayers, and try to keep   
Xellos and Amelia together. She is a valuable ally and contact we may need   
in the future. And you will train yourself, learn about your powers and   
limits."  
"Hai," she responded quickly, eager to be back with friends, even with   
they wouldn't know her.  
Then Xellos appeared in the room.  
"Juuou-sama!" he said hurriedly, merely glancing at Xenith. "I have to   
report that Lina Inverse has been killed." Xellos was focusing on Zelas and   
didn't notice the spike of pain running through the other mazoku.  
Xenith blinked as she felt the rage pour off of Zelas Metallium, she   
wondered how the dark lord could just generate that at seemingly nothing.   
She obviously knew that Lina was dead, obvious to Xenith at least. Xellos   
cringed at the perceived failure, however.  
"Do you know who is responsible?" Zelas demanded.  
"We suspect," Xellos answered. "And we are moving to investigate   
already, but I felt I must report to you." The trickster priest bowed low   
with a tight smile on his face.  
"And come to see the new addition to our family perhaps?" Xellos glanced   
at Xenith apprehensively. Xenith didn't notice, she was mentally reeling at   
the intensity of the dark emotions building in the room. It was a very   
pleasant sensation, and she guessed it was somewhat addictive.  
"The thought crossed my mind," Xellos admitted.  
"Xenith, dear," Zelas called out and the new mazoku stepped into the   
light. "This is your new sister Xellos. She's going to be travelling with   
you for a while."  
"I don't have the time to babysit."  
"Hey, I'm not baby!" the youngest mazoku protested.  
"Does she even have a human form?" Xellos asked, glaring at his sister's   
suddenly perked up wings.  
"Yes, she just hasn't tried it yet," Zelas gestured at Xenith. "Go ahead   
and take a disguise."  
"But...I...." her protests were halted as Zelas entered her mind and   
telepathically gave her the instructions.  
~And DON'T make your human form look like your old body.~ Zelas   
admonished. As her "brother" watched, she shifted into something smaller,   
more compact. A lean huntress with only slightly darker skin and the same   
midnight blue hair. She was still taller than Lina had been, but the wings   
and other inhuman features had vanished. As for dress, the human Xenith wore   
intricate leather bracers and tunics, and a short sword worn at her side.   
She looked the part of a warrior woman.  
"How's this?" Xenith snapped, taking her frustation out on Xellos.  
"I guess we better go introduce you," Xellos sighed. "But you'd better   
not get in our why."  
"Why don't you stay out of my way?" Xenith retorted, while Zelas could   
barely keep her laughter contained.   
  
  
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	7. Sad Reflections

  
Reflections  
  
  
  
Sad Reflections  
  
  
  
"Where did you go?" Zelgadis demanded, as Xellos reappeared at the inn. The other four slayers had gathered in the common room, which they had apparently confiscated as a funeral home, nobody dared say anything against it. Lina's body, the cuts and stabs repaired completely by magic to give her body a semblance of life.  
"I had to give my report," Xellos answered. Then his smile tightened, "And apparently pick up a tagalong." He glanced behind himself at the door to the inn.  
"A tagalong?"  
"Being a bit shy aren't you?" Xellos called back. A pale skinned young woman with dark hair peaked inside. He turned his cheerful face to everybody else a gestured broadly, if mockingly at the young huntress. "My new sister, Xenith."  
"Umm hello," she said nervously. Xellos was too irritated to being proper attention to the new mazoku's actions and emotions. So he missed the fact that she was staring at Lina's corpse with a strange fascination.  
"Why are you starring at her?" Gourry demanded. "What do you think you're doing?" Xenith recoiled as if struck.  
"Go.." she restrained herself, though she did want to scream at who she was out the top of her lungs. ~Gourry, its me, can't you tell? It's me!!~  
"Probably has some filthy game she wants to play," Filia added, and Xenith winced again. Amelia, of course noticed this.  
"Come on everybody," she chided. "You're making her feel unwelcome."  
"She is unwelcome," Zelgadis muttered. "Just another mazoku to cause problems." She couldn't take it anymore, it wasn't like it was possible that this was her fault.  
"Just WHAT did I do to you!?! In case you haven't noticed Ze...errr..whoever, I'm ...new around here, excuse me if I've never actually seen a corpse before! Let's just get on with hunting down that....err...this Tes person that has Juuou-sama so pissed off!" She hmphed and turned her back on them.  
"Yes, this is hardly her fault," Amelia supported. Xellos sat down, annoyed, his new sister seemed to be feeling an immense loss. Xellos wondered what she had experienced to deserve such an emotion. She couldn't have been more than an hour old, if that.  
~Sister, indeed,~ he growled. He looked over at the lifeless corpse of Lina Inverse. ~She must be feeding extraordinarily well for her first day.~  
"Okay, that's it!" Xenith snapped, falling into old habits. "Juuou-sama wants you to investigate....her death. I'm supposed to tag along, and I can taste the desire for revenge off most of the rest of you. So let's stop fighting and deal with it!" What followed was a wave of resentment that she had to bring these facts up. This confirmed her current position as an outsider.  
"She's right," Filia admitted.  
"But what about Lina," Gourry asked. Xenith whispered something, but even Zelgadis didn't quite here it.  
"What did you say?"  
"Are we going to be travelling today at all?"  
"Somehow I doubt it," Xellos said.  
"Well, can I have a room then! While you...do whatever."  
"You don't want to watch the funeral and have a good meal?" Filia asked suspiciously. Xellos also watched her curiously, but he could no longer feel anything but a layer of calm.  
"Excuse me, Xenith-san," Amelia asked. "But what will you be doing?"  
"Sore wa himitsu desu," Xenith said as she walked upstairs. "I'll find my own room." The only who seemed at all concerned was Amelia, but that made sense. Amelia was always concerned about everybody. The young mazoku heard and felt them all leave, waiting until she was alone, before dropping her facade.  
"I was happy! I was happy!" she shouted. Huddling in a little ball knees to her chest and rocking. Then she roared in rage. "I'll rip her heart out! I told her I would! I'll rip her heart out!"   
  
  
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	8. Shaped Reflections

  
Reflections  
  
  
  
Shaped Reflections  
  
  
  
Xenith stared at the ceiling of her room, obstensibly Zelgadis's room, though his scent and emotions barely touched the place, he hadn't slept here last night. She was trying to go to sleep and not succeeding. For one thing, despite her initial intention to avoid the entire thing, she felt this incredible curiousity to see just what kind of funeral they were giving her...giving Lina. They'd want to be gone quickly, so it couldn't be anything big.  
"They're probably just going to bury me....her in a shallow grave, say a few words and then leave," it was easier to think of the corpse as somebody else, she had quickly discovered this little fact. After all, her...Lina's sister had Ceipheed's soul, but she wasn't Ceipheed. "But I still love Gourry...don't I?"  
~If you did before, you do now.~  
"Juuou-sama?"  
~Who did you think it was?~  
"Xellos couldn't read my thoughts, could he?"  
~Not unless you wanted him to, and you don't have to talk out loud, dear.~  
"Oh," ~I mean...oh...umm why are you invading my thoughts?~  
~Because I'd really rather my new minion didn't have a nervous breakdown in her first day of existence, and mind your temper.~  
~Sorry, Juuou-sama~ She continued to stare at the ceiling for a little while and then stood up. ~I need to see this.~  
~Try not to let Xellos notice you, stick to the astral plane~ Zelas admonished. ~Though I suspect that will prove impossible.~   
~Can I ask you something?~  
~What is it Xenith-chan?~  
~How is it possible for THOUGHTS to smell like cigarette smoke?~  
~....~  
~Juuou-sama?~  
~I REALLY need to quit smoking.~  
  
"I'd like to give her a state funeral," Amelia said. "But I suspect we'd find that impossible." She wondered for a moment what the status of things were in Sailoon. She suspected, or knew rather, that her father had to be dead. That assassin wouldn't have called her by the title Majesty otherwise. But she didn't want to think about that.  
"I suppose there is no doubt that it was Tes that did this," Zelgadis asked as he climbed up from the hole he had just finished digging. Gourry sat by the coffin they had bought for Lina.  
"The assassin called Amelia 'Majesty'," Xellos reminded him. "And I don't suppose she was crowned queen in the last couple of months without us knowing."  
"I believe it was a rhetorical question, Xellos," Filia quipped with a shadow of anger.  
"Lina should have killed her when she caught her attacking Amelia," Gourry whispered. Amelia bowed her head.  
"Yes, she probably should have," Xellos agreed, and Amelia winced. Xellos glanced in her direction and thought about apologizing, but he didn't want to let everybody know that it had been Amelia's decision to let the shadow go. Suddenly had a feeling that they were being watched. He narrowed his eyes and looked about. ~Couldn't stay away, could she. Where is the little...~  
"Namagomi!!"  
"Huh? What is it Filia?"  
"We were talking to you," Zelgadis said, irritably.  
"Xellos, are you okay?" Amelia asked timidly.  
"I just thought someone was watching us," Xellos explained.  
"Are you ready for this?" Zelgadis asked.  
"Of course, I am, Amelia and Filia?" The princess nodded.  
"Good, then let's do it." The mazoku, dragon and shaman all pooled their magical capabilities. The dirt solidified into solid rock of an unidentifiable type, blood red with gold and black veins. They paused for a moment to lower the coffin into the stone grave, and then restarted the spell. The stone closed over the coffin and grew, different colors taking precedence at different points until there stood a statue of a golden skinned Lina with the same blood-red hair and black cloak, standing in a pose of triumph. They looked to Gourry.  
"I can't do this, I'm not good with words and such."  
"You'll do fine Gourry-san," Filia said softly.  
"I just keep expecting her to come back, you know like with the Lord of Nightmares? But this wasn't magic this time, this was just a pair of knives, and I was too stupid to see it coming."  
"Don't blame yourself," Zelgadis said. "This is the fault of a spoiled little girl."  
"And I suspect she took Lina first in order to split the rest of us," Xellos added.  
"Let's go," Amelia said suddenly. "We have to get to Sailoon."  
"No justice speech?" Gourry asked. Amelia looked at the memorial and shivered.  
"Not yet."  
They had been gone for nearly five minutes before Xenith stepped out of the Astral to view the memorial in the physical world. She had thought that this day couldn't shock her any further, but her she stood before a memorial dedicated to her...Lina formed almost purely out of magic. More than that, the three common forms of magic formed into one object, it had to be tied to the weave itself. The statue would be almost indestructible.  
Xenith dropped to her knees and just quietly sobbed for a moment or two. Then she stood up straight and looked about.  
"I need to blow something up," she declared to no one. Xenith looked to one mass of emotions that was the town, then she cast about and found another, somewhat smaller, mass of emotions further into the wilds.  
The town was dominated by very average emotions, boredom and subdued levels of happiness and fear mostly. The other mass, however, was dominated by greed, lust, anger, bloodlust and other emotions she was more used to.  
"Human or mazoku, bandits are still my meat and butter," she smiled viciously, teleporting away.  
  
"Who's got the road watch tomorrow?"  
"What are you daft, the damn dra-matta is in that town!" There was a sudden chorus of laughter. "You think she's a joke?"  
"You haven't heard?"  
"Heard what?"  
"Give him a break, we only got the news an hour ago, can't have gotten to everybody yet."  
"A couple of knives sliced her up good." The bandit drew line with his finger across his throat. "The dra-matta is dead."  
"Yer joshin'!"  
"I ain't, taken in the street like a common mark!" Something dropped from the sky and landed in the middle of them all. As they watched, the something stood up and a pair of large raven-feathered wings peeled away from in front of the newcomer. Smiling at them was the predatorial beauty of Xenith's horned face.  
"Hello and goodbye." She said, gathering power into her sharp-nailed hands.  
  
The slayers whirled as the first explosions rocked the day.  
"Lina?" Gourry asked as he recognized the sight of a bandit camp being destroyed. Then he slumped again. "No, not even I'm that stupid."  
"Xenith must have gotten hungry," Xellos suggested.  
"She's going to be a nuisance," Zelgadis noted.   
  
  
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	9. Shadowed Reflections

  
Reflections  
  
  
  
Shadowed Reflections  
  
  
  
"They're coming this way," Tes whispered. "Even that prudish mazoku." Her gaze settled on the party's addition. "Zelgadis dear?" The blue-skinned shadow-Zelgadis shifted languidly and regarded her with a yawn.  
"Yes, milady," he asked.  
"Lina's friends have a new companion." Zelgadis came to look at the leather-armored huntress and smiled.  
"Quite a lovely little girl isn't she, if you like that sort of half-primitive amazon look." Tes focussed the scrying in on the huntress, no warrior would feel the scrying after all.  
"In other words, she has no money, and no power and therefore you aren't interested."  
"I wouldn't put it as insultingly as that, but that does about cover it yes."  
"I don't like it when there is a hole in my knowledge," Tes said, nonchalantly. "Perhaps I should arrange for her to be brought here."  
"Hmph, you tell me this because...."  
"Because I'm bored." she shrugged. The subject of the discussion stopped suddenly for a moment and looked confused, before travelling on. "What was that?" The girl travelled a few more feet and then seemed to look right through the scrying portal and mouth the words. "Hello Tes." The shadow Amelia cut the spell and recoiled in fury.  
"That is no simple huntress," Tes hissed. "Sherra!"  
"I would remind you of your pledge, Your...Majesty," the forming mazoku growled behind her.  
"I know what I pledged very well," Tes smiled. "Now, Xellos and the princess travel with a new companion. Bring that new girl to me, I want to know who she is."  
"Don't overstep your bounds, your majesty." The adolescent mazoku vanished to perform her mission, and Tes smiled, causing the scar along her cheek to shift along her face.  
"I know the pledge that I made," Amelia laughed. "Perhaps she should take a moment to consider just what was said." The shadow-Zelgadis regarded her curiously and filed away the information for later. "Now why did I summon you?" she asked herself, then smiling. "Ah yes that is right." And she gestured for the chimera to join her in the bed.  
  
Xenith was considering her problem.  
"Scratch that," she thought. "Make it problems." First she had to get Amelia and Xellos closer together. As much as it rankled her to admit it, she did have a duty to Zelas to consider. Second she had to get Gourry to notice her, absolutely had to that wasn't a question. Finally she had this strong urge to figure out just what business Juuou-sama had with the dragons. Before she had di....been reborn, she would have spent a moment to wonder about it and then filed it away for later, spending energy on more important things. Eating and killing bandits for example. Now, however, she knew nothing more than that there was something she didn't know and she couldn't stand it.  
Xenith scanned about the room at the other slayers sitting at the table. Guilt and anger was still prevalent about the room. It might be a while before that changed, after all she had lost them in a manner and it was going to take a while for her to get used to that. And as far as they were concerned, their loss was greater than hers. They didn't know that Lina's soul and memory resided in this mazoku body.  
~Well let's see,~ she thought as she tore through her order. She didn't really need the food at all, but old habits were tough to break. Besides with these new senses everything tasted so much more exquisite. ~First things first.~  
~Hey, bro.~ She felt the wave of irritation and inwardly smiled.  
~What is it?~  
~Didn't Juuou-sama have something she wanted...~ "Hey! That's mine!" She snatched at the chicken leg and then growled as it disappeared into his mouth. Secretly she was happy at the occurence, just a bit of nostalgia and maybe somebody would figure it out. Juuou-sama said she didn't want Xenith telling them, but never said anything about letting them figure it out for themselves.  
"What?" Gourry asked genuinely confused.  
"You don't even need to eat," Zelgadis reminded her. "What do you care if he takes your food."  
"It's the principle of the thing!"  
"Did I just hear a namagomi mazoku mention principles?"  
"Oh never mind, I guess there's plenty left." She slumped down in her chair, it wasn't working and she didn't really feel like arguing over something she didn't really need.  
~What are you disappointed about?~ Xellos asked her telepathically.  
~Oh nothing, thought there'd be more of an uproar.~ she sighed mentally, which was an odd feeling.  
~I see, not enough feeding with what's already there?~ She shrugged as she scanned her food for the next thing she wanted to try.  
"Why are we walking to Sailoon?" Xenith asked outloud. "We could always teleport. Xellos, Filia and I could bring you three."  
"Xenith-san is right, why are we moving so slow?"  
"We don't want to just drop into a situation we know little about," Xellos noted.  
"I don't see why not," Gourry popped in. "Isn't that pretty much the why Lina did things anyway? Blow it up and ask questions later?"  
"And look what it got....her." Xenith snapped. Everybody glared at her then. "I'm sorry if I'm being insensitive, but I didn't know the woman, and I'm supposed to be training here, not sitting around watching you all mope!" Lying came easy to her of late.  
"Since you obviously agree that just barging in is stupid, what were you about to suggest?"  
"Teleport like part way there and scout out the situation from somewhere nearby," she suggested.  
"Remember when Lina had her powers sealed away?" Gourry asked. "Wasn't there some sort of village you met her in Zelgadis?"  
"Actually, that was me," Xellos corrected.  
~Same old Jellyfish brains.~ Xenith thought to herself, her eyes narrowed with a bittersweet variation of irritation.  
"Well, it certainly sounds like a good plan to me." Amelia said in support. "It is certainly better than letting that woman sit in my place a while longer just because we decided to walk there."  
"I have to admit that I like the sound of it better than a full journey."  
"Okay then, we should probably..."  
"Hey Xellos, why don't you take Filia since you need to talk to her anyway?" Xellos glared at her as jealously flared in varying flavors from Zelgadis and Amelia.  
"I'd rather go with Zelgadis-san," Filia said. "Besides, I'm one of those doing the teleport so it doesn't really make sense."  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Xenith waved the retort away, yawning.  
  
"I think I'm hungry."  
"You think that you are hungry?" shadow-Xellos scratched his head in confusion.  
"mmmm...." shadow-Filia thought about for a few more seconds. "Yes, I'm hungry."  
"Then why don't you hunt something?"  
"Well, I could, or I could go into that town over there, what do you think?"  
"Why do you want to do that?" Xellos asked nervously. Towns and people made him nervous recently. Of course, so did all these wide open spaces, and the cramped forests, and the birds, and if he stopped to think about it, so did Filia.  
"Ummm....I don't know," Filia thought about it for a moment. "I'm hungry, no its the beds, no I'm bored....oh what ever."  
"We don't have any money," Xellos noted. Filia produced a collection of coins. "Where'd you get those?"  
"Filia's dimensional pocket," she said. "I couldn't figure out how much we'd need so I just took all the platinum."  
"But that's stealing," shadow-Xellos stammered.  
"Is it, I couldn't figure that out, after all I am Filia....I guess."  
"But, but," shadow-Filia passed him by and started walking towards the town.  
"Now is it the beds, or the food, or the music, or the..."  
"Wait, what if we're still in Sailoon!" Next thing shadow-Xellos knew, he was sitting in the corner of an inn watching the people nervously while the shadow-Filia expounded endlessly on the pros and cons of each menu item.  
"May I help with anything?" shadow-Xellos looked up at the waitress and had to blink to make sure he wasn't seeing things.  
"Lina-san?"  
"Oh no, sorry, I'm not Lina Inverse," the red-haired girl said. "Now what would you like?"   
  
  
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	10. Sharp Reflections

  
Reflections  
  
  
  
Sharp Reflections  
  
  
  
Sherra found the cooling trails of three teleports as she arrived at her target's last known location. She frowned as she considered the trails. She could still follow them, the teleport hadn't taken place much longer than ten minutes ago, so that was not what bothered her. What bothered her was that the trails had approximately identical levels of decay, they had been produced by three seperate beings teleporting at almost the exact same time.  
"Filia, Xellos, and who else?" she pondered.  
~Perhaps the chimera has stronger demon blood than we suspected?~ Sherra nodded.  
"That has to be it." She wrapped herself up in darkness and warped space and time about her. Two places became one, and time stopped as she cautiously tested her destination. There was no sensation of mixxing as she would expect from the nearby presence of another mazoku or dragon. Her prey had teleported some distance from their destination, so much the better. She let time and space return to normal, the sudden and brief spike of power hopefully going unnoticed by her prey.  
~Careful, this is the beast master's child and hunting would be something she has taught him.~  
"Yeah, I know," Sherra mumbled as she padded after the trail of human emotions with a quick silent step. She held the mazoku power of form inside, trying to keep from being noticed as she approached them. Her prey apparently wasn't taking similar precautions. Of course they had no reason too, they obviously teleported over here to escape Amelia's eye, not a mazoku's. It wasn't long before she found them.  
"Amelia is...here?" Sherra asked herself, then the raven-haired girl turned her head and the mazoku could see that she lacked the mazoku given scar.  
~Your "mistress" isn't who she appears to be.~  
"I'll have to ask her about that. But, first things first." It was a simple matter to summon a force of minor mazoku and clothe them in the forms of common bandits. It wouldn't fool Xellos, but it by a second or too of surprise from the others. Besides, all she was trying to do was seperate the new girl from the rest and bring her to "Amelia."  
"Attack them," Sherra ordered. The mazoku-bandits chuckled and rushed into certain doom, unaware of just what they were facing.  
  
"Oh dear," Xellos sighed with mock frustration. "Company." He smirked as the others turned to face the horde of "bandits."  
"Great, just what we need, bandits," Zel grumbled. Surprisingly Gourry didn't pause to consider the new opponents.  
"LIGHT COME FORTH."  
"They're not what they look like!" Xenith shouted following closely behind. She resisted the desire to cast a spell, mazoku didn't start life with advanced spell knowledge any more than humans did.  
He charged forward and slashed at two of the first attackers, and growled when they managed to dodge. Both of his targets moving faster, and jumping higher than most humans could manage.  
"What kind of bandits are these?" Amelia demanded, calling power into her hands.  
"They're not bandits," Xenith shouted from where she had just slashed one in half and then watched as the body dissipated into nothing. "They're..." Xenith vanished from behind Gourry.  
"Where'd she go?" Zelgadis growled. "Elmekia Lance!" A bandit disintegrated from the nearly absent minded spell. The chimera enchanted his sword with an astral vine after the fifth time it failed to cut an opponent. The slayers weren't really breaking a sweat, as soon as it became obvious that they weren't facing mortal men anyway.  
"Somebody else teleported in and out with her," Filia explained, she looked to Xellos and saw that the mazoku was focused on watching Amelia's back. She narrowed her eyes. "Aren't you concerned at all?"  
"Not particularly," Xellos said, cheerfully incinirating another minor mazoku. Filia grumbled something about Namagomi and followed the teleport trail.  
  
"Oh no you don't!!" Xenith sniped and warped the teleport, making what was supposed to be a long range teleport into something crossed perhaps a mile.  
"What!" Sherra snapped, surprised. Then, as she popped into normal space and rose Duofolger into a defensive stance, she snarled and narrowed her eyes. "High mazoku." Xenith drew her own sword.  
~Let's see if I can do this without magic.~ she thought to herself, if she could it would be easier to hide she was once human. "Took you long enough to figure it out, Sherra." Xenith said, bearing her own sword. Sherra charged forward and slashed out, Duofolger connecting with Xenith's blade and rebounding back. Sherra prepared for another strike and was surprised when Duofolger whipped around, pulling her arm along, to block an attack from her opponent.  
~She's faster than you.~ the sword said desperately. Sherra teleported back away from her opponent. Xenith was slow to follow, and by the time she did, Sherra had teleported to a new location. Sherra smiled  
~She's inexperienced.~ She chuckled silently. She sent another message to the sword and then teleported as Xenith came in again. Duofolger didn't follow.  
"Running away already?" Xenith snarled, preparing to teleport again when she felt the sword's presence behind her. "NOT THIS TIME!" she shouted, swinging her blade around to deflect the sentient blade away from her. As she did Sherra appeared behind her and kicked outward with a smirk. Xenith flew across their chosen battlefieldand smashed through a couple of trees.  
"How's that?" Sherra asked. Xenith stood up with a smile.  
"Felt pretty good," she laughed. "Care to try again." Sherra growled and teleported with her sword again.  
In the split second before she appeared, Xenith smiled and rolled to the side. As sword and girl appeared, they found no Xenith to fight. The first clue they had was Duofolger being grabbed by a sharp-nailed hand and tossed into a nearby tree. Sherra turned to see Xenith in mazoku form.  
"Unicorn trap," Xenith said in sing song manner as Sherra growled and fired an energy blast into the raven winged girl. Xenith cursed herself for that moment of ego as Sherra freed Duofolger and the pair were attacking her again. ~I need to end this.~  
"DIE!" Sherra yelled as she and Duofolger came from different angles. Xenith smirked as power gathered into her hands. "What are you...?" Filia arrived as the young mazoku was starting the spell.  
"FIREBALL!!" Xenith shouted, nearly shoving Sherra aside with the somatic portion of the spell.   
When she had been Lina, Xenith had perfected the fireball to almost unheard of levels of destruction. Now, with the much greater level of energy available to a mazoku and her former level skill with the spell, the blast was tremendous indeed. Sherra flew backwards, great holes appearing in her body.  
"DIEM WIND! DIGU VOLT!" The mazoku sword was likewise embedded in thick boulder by the hurricane winds and then charred by the lightning blast. Both mazoku soon vanished away in retreat. "Hah, take that you..."  
"By Ceipheed...." Xenith turned around to see Filia.  
~Oh no, she knows.~ Spellcasting style was unique from person to person. Just the same way fighting style was. Even if she had been reincarnated, and her true name altered, the essence of her casting style had not yet changed enough that it couldn't be recognized. It was most of the reason she had refrained from casting spells around her old friends.  
"Lina?"   
  
  
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	11. Searing Reflections

  
Reflections  
  
  
  
Searing Reflections  
  
  
  
Filia narrowed her eyes as Xenith winced and then laughed, tossing her hair in a very Lina-like manner. She had seen this before several times in her travels with Lina. The mazoku was about to try and bluff.  
"What are you talking about?" Xenith asked in an amused voice. "Did you drop that mace on your own head or something?"  
"Please refrain from from insulting my intelligence," Filia crossed her arms. "I know your casting style."  
"Lina's dead, I was there when you buried her."  
"I thought you were hiding in a room somewhere?" Filia leaned forward and arched an eyebrow.  
"You really think I would miss a meal like that?" She started to waggle a finger. "I am not..." Xenith paused and seemed to consider something, then sighed and shrugged.  
"Lina dies and the same day Xellos comes back from his master with you," Filia notes.  
"I am NOT Lina, I am just her reincarnation," she shrugged again.  
"So when were you and Xellos going to tell us this," Filia demanded.  
"Xellos doesn't know," Filia was confused and must have shown. "And it stays that way. Don't tell anybody else about this."  
"That isn't...." without the chaos of combat both felt the teleport behind them. Filia restrained herself from continuing, until she could convince....how should she refer to the young mazoku. Anyway, until she could convince the girl how silly this was, it wasn't Filia's secret to divulge.  
"I told you there was nothing to worry about," Xellos piped cheerfully. "Insufferable brat she may be, but Zelas does not create weak...is something wrong Filia-san?"  
"Namagomi," she muttered before fading away in a teleport.  
~What was that about?~ Xellos asked.  
~I don't know,~ Xenith shrugged. ~You know her better than I do.~ Xellos narrowed his eyes and felt the smug satisfaction coming off his sister. She was acting quite the mazoku, Zelas should be proud.  
  
"She's still with us," Filia said by way of explanation as faces turned to her. Amelia breathed a sigh of relief.  
"I suppose we could always hope for next time," Zelgadis commented sarcastically. Amelia turned to defend Xenith, which had been developing into something of a habit with her lately, and paused as Filia's mace flattened Zelgadis to the ground. "What was that for?"  
"You shouldn't wish harm on anyone," Zelgadis stared at her blankly for a moment, before returning to his normal expression of near-eternal frustration. Filia laughed nervously and looked at her mace in embarrassment, and hid it behind her back.  
"It was sarcasm," he said levely, brushing himself off. Filia regrouped before Zelgadis's rather well-deserved confusion and hmphed.  
"Some other mazoku tried to kidnap her," she informed them. Xellos and Xenith appeared behind the dragon.   
Xenith, in her human form again, yawned and leaned against a tree. She was tapping her foot and being rather purposefully bored, virtually screaming the message, "let's get on with it." Filia noticed that she didn't seem to be paying the dragon any more notice than usual. Which was to say that she was watching whoever was talking as if branding the image to memory. The dragon hadn't understood that particular character trait until now.  
"Dynast Grausherra appears to be behind this attack," Xellos said with his normal cheer.  
"Who is that?" Gourry asked. Filia watched as Xenith's hands clinched and she gritted her teeth. The next reaction should have been her hitting Gourry on the head and yelling something about "Jellyfish brains." That did not happen, the mazoku shrugged and leaned back against the tree.  
"Yeah, who was that girl anyway?" Xenith asked.  
"Now you asking makes sense," Zelgadis said. Filia arched an eyebrow but said nothing.  
"Actually Gourry asking makes sense too," Amelia sighed quietly, with the exasperration most of the group usually felt when Gourry asked something silly.  
"Dynast is one of the remaining darklords," Xellos explained.  
"You act like this is good news," Zelgadis complained.  
"His general made a direct attack on Xenith, and failed to kill her," Xellos pointed out, waggling a finger. "Unless he declares her rogue, he's subject to reprisal from our master. He can't win."  
"What does that have to do with anything?"  
"She didn't know who or what Xenith was," Amelia answered. She turned to Xellos. "It's her again, isn't it."  
"But why would she be interested in Xenith?" Gourry asked. Filia watched Amelia and Xenith both react to the question. Amelia cringed, while the mazoku seethed with anger. Filia almost screamed as Xellos stepped further away from Xenith to comfort Amelia. As far as Filia could tell nobody else even saw her reaction.  
  
  
"What did you say!?" Tes shrieked at the injured mazoku.  
"The girl is Lina Inverse," Sherra gasped, she was already almost fully healed, but that fireball had been painful.  
"That's impossible," Tes spat. "She was killed."  
"Reincarnated," Sherra explained, shaking her head. "She's a mazoku, but it was her." A wave of fear engulfed the human. She had always been afraid of Lina, and now Sherra had just told her that her greatest fear was still walking the world. Only now she had much more power, and much more reason to hate "Amelia."  
"Xellos must have transformed her," Shadow-Zelgadis reasoned for the distracted queen.  
"She's a general," Sherra said, channelling the wonderful fear into healing. "She's too powerful to be a servant's minion. There was another Amelia there as well, and another Zelgadis."  
"There are two of you, she was alone," Tes growled. "And yet you STILL failed to destroy her?"  
"She remains a powerful sorceress." Sherra didn't bother to mention that the failed attack on another dark lord's general would probably mean their deaths.  
Tes whirled and marched to the secret compartment that held the pledge stone.  
"What do you think you're doing?" Tes drew out the pledge stone and turned to face Sherra and Zelgadis smiling viciously. The stone was a simple tablet marked with runes.  
"Do you remember what you swore by over this tablet?" she asked.  
"I pledged to link your life to mine, to serve you and protect you as long as helped complete my goals."  
"'I swear by this stone to bind my life in yours, and your power to me,'" she said. Sherra looked at her confused for a moment and then lurched to her feet in shock. Shadow-Zelgadis moved to intercept her uneccesarrily. "I'm calling for the oath to be fulfilled."  
Sherra stopped in mid charge, doubling over in horrendous pain as a dark miasma rose from her physical form and drifted toward the pledge stone, toward Tes. The shadow-Zelgadis backed away from the madly cackling queen as the darkness flowed out of Sherra into Tes. Then it was finished and the light slowly returned to the room.  
Sherra was curled into a little ball on the floor as Tes walked softly across the room to her prone form. The mazoku felt cold, empty, as somebody's fingers lightly brushed across her face. She knew it had to be the false Amelia, but she could only weakly sense the emotions coming from her. It was only when the person firmly grasped her chin and turned face up that Sherra's suscpisions were confirmed.  
"You were so very careful," Tes whispered. "You caught every ploy I put before you in the early negotiations, and you actually thought you had convinced me it was hopeless to try and cheat you. You never even bothered to listen to what was said at the actual pledge."  
"What did you do to me?" Sherra gasped. Tes laughed and leaned down to whisper right into the girl's ear.  
"What does it feel like to be mortal again?" Then she stood up and looked down as Sherra continued to lie on the ground, trying to recover her strength. A few gestures lifted her off the ground and carried her to Tes's bed. Sherra's eyes widened as the soft silk bed rose to meet her. She struggled to sit up, looking over in the direction of the human that had stolen her power. There was a familiar hungry expression on Tes's face.  
~No, she couldn't. I'm Dynast's general! I'm Dynast's general!~ The queen teleported to her side and smiled down at her. She tried to punch out and Tes easily caught the strike and held the arm twisted against her back. Sherra cried out briefly as Tes settled on top of her started brushing her sweat soaked hair back.  
"You haven't heard my news yet," the shadow-Zelgadis snapped. Tes snapped up and glared at him.  
"What is it?"  
"Someone thinks they may have spotted the shadow Xellos and Filia," she snapped to her feet dropping Sherra negligently. She curled up again trying to shelter herself, the shadow-Zelgadis glanced once at her. He tested the air and the scents of the two women. What he found was amazing, Tes was still human and Sherra was still mazoku. He had thought that Tes's plot had reversed their races, he had apparently thought wrong.  
"Where are they?" Tes demanded.  
"A village on the borders," Zelgadis said. "At least that is where they were reported. They were heading for where Lina's friends were."  
"They'll have moved on by now," Tes said walking out of the room, trying to figure out where the two fugitives would be by now, she carried the pledge stone away with her. The shadow-Zelgadis glanced after her apprehensively.  
"This is certainly not the arrangement I was promised," he sighed. "Guard!" It was only moment before a guard, who had been trying to ignore the sounds of pain from this room, appeared before the Prince Consort.  
"Yes, milord?" He tried not to glance over to where Sherra had passed out.  
"This servant girl is exhausted, can you find her a room to rest in?" He didn't have to say "other than this one." The guard understood. As the unconscious mazoku was carried away he glanced at the sword that Sherra had dropped when the ill-thought pledge had stricken her.  
~She has to be stopped.~ The shadow-Zelgadis arched an eyebrow and picked up the sword.  
"Find someone who isn't concerned with remaining civilized," he hmphed setting the sword back down.  
~Or at least willing to risk their neck.~ The shadow-Zelgadis arched an eyebrow, pausing at the doorway, and then continued out of the room.   
  
  
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	12. Serious Reflections

  
Reflections  
  
  
  
Serious Reflections  
  
  
  
"Excuse me, Xellos-san and Filia-san," the shadow Xellos snapped around to face the door, where the nervous face of the shadow Lina peeked in. "Perhaps you were right to be nervous about staying here."  
"What is it?" he asked. The sorceress-copy turned innkeeper came into the room shutting the door behind her.  
"The queen is in the village." the shadow-Lina said simply. Xellos screamed pasted himself against the wall.  
"Shh," Lina insisted pressing her hands down. She took walked to the closet and gathered magic to her hand, chanting quietly before reaching forward and opening the door. "In here." She walked into the closet.  
"What's in there?" Filia asked. Xellos was wondering that too, but after weighing his fear of Tes against his fear of whatever the girl had summoned. Tes won out and he grabbed the shadow Filia and jumped into the closet...and found an expansive store room filled with all manner of things. The shadow Lina closed the closet door, cast some more magic and opened the door again.  
"What are you doing?" Xellos shouted as Lina walked back out of the door. "That madwoman is out...." he looked out and saw an extravagant ball room.  
"Oh yeah, welcome to my house," the shadow Lina said as her footsteps echoed through the great hall. "Well my husband's house, but the inn and dimensional warehouse are mine."  
"As are the various other establishments she has throughout the universes," a voice called out. The shadows looked up at the sound of the voice and saw an exceedingly beautiful man standing in a balcony above them. He was dressed in fine raiments, much finer than much of what the shadow-Xellos could remember seeing. "Guests I assume then?"  
"Only for an hour or so Hoto-Hori," she said sweetly, levitating up to meet him. "There's rebellion going on back in my homeworld, and these people are running from some evil tyrant." She explained quite simply.  
"Ack! What's SHE doing back." Xellos winced at the high-pitched sound. Filia was just quietly waiting for someone to explain things to her.  
"Oh don't worry about that, Nuriko's just a little jealous." Xellos glanced at the flame-aura shrouded "woman" and gulped.  
"A LITTLE jealous?" Suddenly, Nuriko was at his side and clutching tightly.  
"Oh, don't listen to that whiny little red-head," the "woman" insisted. Xellos wasn't greatly fooled, Nuriko was just trying to use him to try and engender some jealousy of her own. Besides, she scared him. "Now tell us all about you, it isn't every day that we have man-steal...err...visitors from another world....though it certainly feels like it."  
  
"Something is wrong," Zelgadis said simply.  
"Of course something's WRONG!" Filia responded. "Amelia's shadow has taken over Sailoon and has apparently made a deal with a mazoku."  
"That's not what I meant and you know it," Zelgadis said. "You went off to help Xenith and then you come back and suddenly you're acting like she's your long lost sister."  
"I just felt that we've kept up this juvenile act altogether to long," Filia sniffed. "Her its understandable coming from, after all she does need the anger and such to feed on, but from us its just...what?" Zelgadis had arched an eyebrow and looking at her with a rather bland expression. In other words he looked about like he normally did.  
"This coming from someone who calls any mazoku she sees a namagomi," Zelgadis noted.  
"Okay, okay," Filia hmphed. "I found out that she's a reincarnated human."  
"And you believed her?"  
"I saw her casting spells," Filia retorted. "And she denied it."  
"She's a sorceress as well as a mazoku?" Zelgadis said. "And she was keeping this secret?"  
"I don't think she's supposed to let Xellos or any of us that she's human, so don't say anything."  
"Fine, I won't. But it still doesn't explain why you're any more concerned about her than you should be."  
"Well, how did you like it when people just started snubbing you because of..." she stopped and looked at Zelgadis's stricken face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."  
"No, no, you're right," Zelgadis grumbled. "We ARE doing the same thing, I just didn't realize....perhaps I should apologize."  
"Just don't mention you know she was reincarnated," Filia asked. She hadn't really betrayed Li..Xeni...the mazaku's trust. She'd only said part of the story, still it was a load off of her chest that somebody else knew at least part of the truth.  
  
"Please your majesty," the peasant pleaded. "They aren't here, they moved on a week ago."  
"So you've said," Tes agreed. "And where did they go?"  
"North, your majesty, seeking their friends."  
"Hmm," she looked about at the town. "Nice village you got here, I'm not charging you enough taxes. Expect that to change." Then the Queen vanished, blinking away in a teleport back to her own palace. The villager breathed a sigh of relief at her disappearance.  
Tes found her room empty. Her eyes narrowed.  
"Guard!" a chain mail garmented warrior arrived quickly and hesitantly entered her room.  
"Yes, your majesty?"  
"Where is the girl that was in here when I left?"  
"The servant girl?" he asked nervously.   
"Yes, the SERVANT girl," Tes said, amused. "Send for her," Tes ordered.  
"She..."  
"That won't be possible," she turned to look at her husband, and glared at the shadow-chimera as he came into her room. "It seems that she faked her own death and used that to escape."  
"And where are the guards that LET her escape!" Tes demanded. Zelgadis walked to the room's window and gestured outside. Tes looked as she saw heads being set up on pikes.  
"I anticpated your descision," Zelgadis said. "I do so hope that you don't mind." She turned to face him, eyes narrowed.  
"Of course not," she said evenly. "It is exactly what I would have done. You are dismissed guard." The man virtually ran out of the room.  
It was the next day when Zelgadis stopped by the servant quarters, at a time he was sure that Tes was busy with....someone.  
"That new girl?" the servant asked nervously. "She is still recovering from....yesterday."  
"I realize this, and I will only impose myself on her rest for a moment," he stormed past the servant into the back room. This is where the sick were kept so that they could not infect anyone else. At the moment Sherra was the only "patient." The shadow Zelgadis looked back to the doorway and quietly cast a silence upon the doorway so that none of the girls could easedrop.  
"I told you there is no way she would believe that I'm dead," the still weak mazoku whispered. "If I die then she dies, and she knows that."  
"I did not tell her you died," Zelgadis said. "I told her you escaped." Sherra rolled over and looked up.  
"Why not just kill me?" she asked rolling back down. "That will solve the problem."  
"Perhaps you should speak to my barbaric other," he sniffed. "It is not civilized to attack ladies in need."   
He turned about on his heels and walked out of the room, dispelling the silence behind him. Sherra let herself drift back to sleep, still feeding on the trickles of fear and anger she could feel from outside.  
She did feel a little safer than before, though she would never admit to it.   
  
  
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	13. Scarred Reflections

  
Reflections  
  
  
  
Scarred Reflections  
  
  
  
They drew glances and looks from almost the moment they were seen on the edge of the town. It was fairly obvious, as they walked, a small crowd was forming with the gaze fixed on the six of them. Filia glanced about nervously, she hadn't seen such a reaction to them before, even when they were travelling with Lina.  
"I think we should get inside," the dragon suggested suddenly. "This is getting ugly."  
"There's an inn over there," Zelgadis noted.  
"Well, I'm certainly getting enough of a meal out here," Xenith muttered.  
"What's got these guys so worked up?" Gourry asked as they reached the inn.  
"I've never received a welcome like this," Zelgadis admitted as he stepped inside.ahead of Filia. "It appears to be more welcoming in here." He whispered as Filia and Amelia walked in behind him. Xellos followed soon after.  
"Well," Xenith addressed Gourry. "Go in."  
"You first," the swordsman insisted.  
"Hey, jelly-fish brain, I'm mazoku, you're human," she pointed out. "I can take care of myself."  
"That's what Lina always said," Gourry countered. Xenith hmphed, and tried to blow a loose bundle of hair out from in front of her eyes.  
"Okay, back up together then," she said.  
"Allright," and the pair backed into the inn room, and turned to face dozens of drawn swords.  
"What is going on here?" Gourry and Xenith turned back to find a similar situation outside, but they had expected that.  
"Its her, the Destroyer of Souls." one of the villagers muttered.  
"Let's kill her now and be done with it."  
"Destroyer of Souls?" Xenith repeated. "That's a new....wait a minute." Amelia seemed pale and shocked at the scene.  
"Look again," a shrill voice called from the back. "Notice anything missing. There's no scar." The voice added, exasperated after a few moments silence. The figure walked into the light and revealed herself to be a tall cloaked woman.  
"Who are you," Zelgadis demanded. "And what are you talking about."  
"Well you KNOW what I'm talking about," the woman laughed. "That madwoman in the palace calling herself Queen. I'm fairly certain you're here for the same reason I am. Getting rid of her."  
"You haven't said who you are," Filia commented. The figure started to pull in a breath and Xenith blurt out.  
"Oh by Cei...I mean Ruby-Eye, DON'T laugh!"  
"Why ever should I not, little girl?"  
"This is the rightful ruler of Sailoon, Pretender. Gracia Wil Mylie Sailoon" The figure threw back her hood and loosed a hideous shreiking laugh that had everybody cringing.  
"Better known as Naga, the White Serpent!" she announced, then smiled smuggly.  
"You mean that you're Amelia's..." Zelgadis started.  
"....Sister?" Xenith finished. "You!"  
"Yes, she's my sister."  
"Out of curiousity," Gourry started, looking at Xenith. "Why are you so surprised?" She twitched and started scratching her head.  
"Oh, no reason."  
  
Sherra breathed a sigh of relief as the Queen strode down the hall. She hadn't expected her to still be in this part of the castle. For a moment she wondered just what the woman was doing, but she had more important things to consider right now. She quietly opened the door to the royal chambers. She walked immediately to the sword mounted up on mantle.  
~What are you doing HERE.~ Duofolger demanded as she grasped the hilt and scabbard.  
"I'm looking for the pledge stone, what does it look like?" She belted the mazoku sword on and began searching the room.  
~You can't sense it?~ She stopped and stood up straight for a moment, before continuing searching for the tablet.  
"I can barely feed," she said tightly. She paused, frustrated, and scanned the room, her senses were still better than human. If she passed close to something of such high magic as the pledge stone, she'd notice.  
  
Tes frowned, somebody was messing about in her room. Some servant looking for something to steal perhaps. On the other hand, she had felt shadows throughout the palace. She didn't completely trust her husband, she didn't completely trust anyone. She didn't think Zelgadis would stick his neck out to actually help her, but concealing the fact that she was still in the palace, however.  
The already terrified courtier pleading his case before her began gagging as an aura of darkness surrounded her. Soon afterward a wailing cry drifted down to the throne room.  
"Excuse me," Tes said quietly as she stood up. "It appears that I have business elsewhere." The courtier collapsed to the ground as she phased out to her rooms. She was disappointed to find nothing there. "She was here. She is here. She couldn't have gotten out on her own after " The sword was gone, she came for her sword. The door creaked open and Tes turned to face her husband.  
"Sherra is still here, my dear," she smiled at him.  
"Quite stupid of her," Zelgadis said. "She should have left the first time."  
"She should be lying here in a pained stupor," Tes said wistfully. "Somebody must have dragged her out."  
"Surely, you don't suspect me," Zelgadis said.  
"Of course not," she said. "You don't have the guts for it." She walked back out of her room. Zelgadis watched her leave before looking about the room himself. He didn't really need his eyes, the scents and sounds about the room were quite definitive on their own. He walked to the huge bed and knelt down to find the mazoku lying there only barely conscious.  
"What are you doing," he sighed.  
"Pledge..." Zelgadis reached under the bed grabbed her. Pulling the mazoku out as gently as he could manage without her help. He glanced at the door and decided not to risk it. Wrapping a field of invisibility about himself he stepped outside the window and dropped down three floors, enacting a levitate outside another window. He didn't have to worry about any of the servants seeing through his spell, and Tes had eliminated most of the really talented spell casters. Which left only Tes herself, and she probably wouldn't think he do anything like this.  
The shadow-Zelgadis didn't stop until he was deep in the dungeons of the palace, in a room that he doubted even Tes knew about. Though now it was well stocked, this is where Sherra had been hiding after she recovered enough to walk out of the servants quarters. Though she probably didn't know that Zelgadis had traced her scent down here.  
The chimera was preparing to leave when Sherra grabbed him.  
"Why do you keep helping me?"  
"A mazoku general is certainly a more powerful and safer ally than a madwoman who's going to bring herself down," he answered. Sherra laughed weakly.  
"I failed to kill a dark lord's minion," she whispered. "Dynast won't accept me, not if he doesn't want to give Zelas a reason to fight him."  
"You're still safer than Tes," he said. "Why don't you just know why I'm doing this, you're mazoku, you should be able to feel my emotions."  
"Just go away," she lay back against her make shift bed and closed her eyes.  
"If that's what you want," he said. The chimera walked out of the room. Sherra cracked open her eyes and took Duofolger out of its sheath.  
~What are you doing, now?~  
"Ending this," she turned the sword's point toward her, and then Duofolger was out of her hands.  
~That is the stupidest thing you have yet thought up.~ Sherra ignored the sword and reached for a dagger.  
~Get back in here!~ Zelgadis had almost exited the dungeon when the sword's call came. He considered it for a moment, and then ran back to Sherra's shelter. The mazoku was reclining against the wall with a dagger in her chest. There was no blood but a stream of shadow stuff that drifted like mist from the wound.  
"Damn it," he knelt before her and carefully drew the dagger out of the wound. "How much did Tes take from her? This isn't even an enchanted dagger." His hand covered in white glow as he reached out to heal the wound, then he pulled back. A recovery might just finish the job.  
~Are you just going to sit there and watch her die then?~ The shadow-Zelgadis narrowed his eyes and felt the rage grow inside him, how dare that tool insult his chivalry? Then he blinked, and let the rage build.  
"Stupid mazoku! What do you think you're doing?" The flow of black mist seemed to slow as the shadow's flow of anger continued. Eventually it stopped completely. She remained unconscious, which made Zelgadis's next task easier. Chanting quietly Zelgadis magically reformed the stone about her into restraints. Under normal circumstances he wouldn't consider the manacles capable of holding a mazoku, but then Sherra had already proven rather weak.  
"Tell me when she wakes up," he told the sword. He came out of the dungeon and to the rooms above to find chaos. He stepped out of his reformed invisibilty and caught a servant. "What's going on?"  
"The Queen collapsed!" Zelgadis let go of the frightened man and followed to the source of the chaos. Tes lay in a stupor similar to the one he had left Sherra in. Unfortunately he was fairly certain that Tes would recover just as well as Sherra, and probably faster.  
"Everybody leave," he shouted. "Don't worry about the Queen, I'm sure she'll be fine." The horde of guards and servants glanced at each other before complying with the chimera's order.  
  
Zelas blinked open one eye and cautiously removed one hand from her head. For a moment she had been about to reprimand Xenith for trying to stop the woman from laughing. After all, how bad could a laugh be that she should risk being recognized? Then, of course, Naga had laughed.  
"Hmmm, I suppose its stopped," she said. "Best not to listen in while that one's around I guess." She reclined back and created another wine glass to replace the one that had broken when Naga had unleashed her metal bending tones.  
This was turning out a lot more profitable than she had originally thought. She had finally brought Lina into the fold. Dynast had been forced to give up his general, leaving him in no condition to stop her plans. She had yet to determine whether the appearance of Amelia's true sister was good a thing or bad thing. She could determine that after her children and their little pack finished off the Queen.  
"It shouldn't take much longer," Xelas laughed. She sipped the wine a little and then considered her children. "Maybe I should go ahead and listen in for a moment longer."  
  
Gourry was thinking, which surprisngly enough was a rather common thing for him to be doing. He was thinking almost constantly, common subjects being food, swordfighting and Lina. It was just that he didn't really apply his brain to anything outside those subjects. It never really seemed important to him. Which is why he didn't really understand why he was paying Xenith much mind, and it was probably also why he wasn't giving the issue as much intense study as she should.  
He thought about Xenith's sudden outburst trying to keep Naga from laughing. Obviously she knew Naga from somewhere, but where. Xellos said that Xenith was created just right after Lina's....death. And she joined them right afterwards. So there was no way she should have been able to meet Naga before, unless.  
"By Ceipheed, there's only one way Xenith could have recognized you," he shouted standing up from the table. Filia glanced at Xenith, who was staring in shock at Gourry.  
"And how is that?"  
"You must be Zelas Metallium!"  
Somewhere on an island far away, a dark lord face faulted. This was about the standard reaction within the inn room as well.  
"NO SHE'S NOT ZELAS METALLIUM!!!" Xenith, Xellos, Amelia and a fourth voice shouted.  
"That sounded like..." Xenith started.  
"...Juuou-sama?" Xellos finished. But found nothing behind them.  
  
Tes's eyes snapped open, instantly filling with rage.  
"She DARED?!?"   
  
  
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	14. Secret Reflections

  
Reflections  
  
  
  
Secret Reflections  
  
  
  
Xenith paced about the room seemingly unaware of the world around her.   
This was actually quite true. Filia knew about her, and she had almost   
revealed herself when Naga showed up. Even Gourry had almost figured it out.   
She stopped looked over at the where the blonde swordsman sat and rolled her   
eyes. Well....he had sort of almost figured it out. He had been so close   
too, why couldn't he just figure it out?  
"Back to the problem," she mumbled to herself. She stopped in front of a   
table and concentrated on a spoon. Or rather what had once been a spoon.   
She weaved ties about it, the same dimensional magics that dragons and mazoku   
used to teleport. That down she tried to teleport it...again. She expected   
to twist into some newly deformed shape, but instead nothing happened. She   
blinked, tried to teleport it again, and nothing happened.  
~Hey Xellos, can you come over here? I want to try something.~  
~We're doing real work over here,~ her brother responded. ~Not playing   
with spoons.~ Xenith narrowed her eyes and tried something more than a   
little audacious. She looked over at where Xellos was standing with the   
others, reached out and then he was in front of her, and not very happy about   
it.  
"Okay, show me what you want me to see and then," the younger mazoku   
weaved the effect about herself, ignoring her brother.  
"Teleport me," she said. Xellos looked at her curiously and attempted to   
do so, nothing happened. He frowned. "It worked! I locked the space!"  
"This is very impressive, but can you teleport yourself?" Xenith's   
escatic smile faded a little and then she slumped.  
"Uh...no, but at least this means that we can keep any of us from being   
snatched away by Sherra." Xellos nodded and examined the younger mazoku.   
She was inordinately happy at having discovered a new application for her   
powers. "And since we can teleport we don't really need it."  
"This is usful," he admitted. "Now, for my own curiousity, how do you   
know Amelia's sister?"  
"I don..."  
"I am fairlly aware of the 'Great Naga's' career," he noted. "She   
traveled with Lina Inverse for a time, and I know it can't have coincided   
with your life until now....unless."  
"Unless wha..." She glanced over to see Zelgadis striding over towards   
her. The tension and discomfort on his face was enough to tell her what was   
on his mind. She didn't need to feel his emotions.  
"While we seem to holding this little social discussion over here, I   
suppose this is as good a time as any too..."  
"Great, she told you." Xenith sighed. Xellos noted the surprise in   
Zelgadis.  
"Yes," Xenith through her arms up in exasperation. Xellos sat back and   
watched, realizing that his "sister" had made a series of assumptions just   
now. "But I guess now isn't the time to discuss that." Xellos smiled as   
they looked at him.  
"Excuse me," they turned to look at Amelia and Naga. "Are we going to   
figure out a way to take the kingdom back from Tes or are we going to   
gossip?" The chimera and two mazoku sweatdropped.  
  
"Should it be safe now?" Lina scratched her head and scanned about for   
the source of the voice.  
"Oh Xellll-chan, where are you? Oh...its YOU." Nuriko sniffed. "Have   
you seen that darling Xellos anywhere?"  
"Well, I thought I heard him just a moment ago," Lina scratched her head.  
"Shouldn't you all be heading back to your own world pretty soon?"  
"I guess they should," Lina sighed. "But I'd probably just be a threat   
to the business."  
"You can afford it."  
"But Janner and Leila and all the rest will lose their jobs and I can't   
do that to them."  
"Then why not fight in this revolution you have going on?"  
"You mean HURT people?" Nuriko rolled her eyes and stomped off in search   
of Xellos.  
"Is she gone?" Lina looked around again, scratched her head and then   
looked up to see Xellos clinging to a rafter.  
"Is who gone?"  
"Nuriko of course."  
"Oh, Nuriko? Yeah he's gone." shadow-Xellos blinked and shook his head   
clear.  
"He?"  
"Boy he's really high up there isn't he?"  
"Miaka-chan, Tamehome! I was wondering where you were."  
"Who's that up there?"  
"It's a guest of my darling Lina's, but what he's doing in the structure   
of my roof is beyond me." All this talk of high places was making the   
shadow-Xellos dizzy.  
"It really is high uppppp...." the floor blurred as he began to faint and   
crash to the floor. Everybody winced as he smacked into the floor.  
"Oh XELL-chan what happened to you?" and everybody sweatdropped as   
Nuriko tried to shake shadow-Xellos awake.  
  
Sherra woke up slowly, feeling tired and drained. This was   
disappointing, she had thought death would be feel more unusual. Then she   
felt the restraints around her arms and opened her eyes to see that she was   
still deep in the dungeon. She was very much alive and held captive.  
"She found me!" She gasped and searched around for the Queen's   
diminuitive form. Much to her relief she didn't find Tes.  
~Calm down, the chimera saved your life.~  
~Why did he do that?~ Then the chimera appeared in the door way, well   
not really, but she felt the magic of his invisibility weave. She turned   
slowly to face him as he blurred into visibility.  
"Feeling better, milady?"  
"Get me out of these things!" she strained against the magic-shaped   
stone.  
"Are you going to be ramming anymore daggers into your chest?"  
"Its the only way, I won't find the pledge stone." she said quietly.   
"She knew when I was in her room, the stone will be much better guarded. I   
die, she dies."  
"There will be another way, Lina's friends are close now."  
"And they have reason to kill me, I die either way, might as well do it   
now."  
"I will not have you killing yourself, is that understood?"  
"I am NOT one of your servants," Sherra hissed. "And what possible   
rea...." Sherra's eyes widened as the shadow-Zelgadis leaned forward and   
kissed her full on the mouth. She was too surprised to do anything at first,   
but was soon was reciprocating the action. Her arms will still pinned to the   
wall so she settled for grabbing the chimera with her legs.  
After what seemed an eternity shadow-Zelgadis broke away from her.   
Sherra knew he probably just saw her as a possible source of power and   
prestige, but he was still the only one other than Duofolger that had treated   
her affectionately in the past weeks.  
"No suicide, and I'll remove the restraints," he said. She nodded   
quietly, still surprised. The stone manacles vanished back into the walls.   
Sherra lifted her arms and examined them, they seemed no weaker than the rest   
of her body. "If you'll excuse me then milady?" He started to stand up.  
"Wait!" Sherra called, grabbing hold of the shadow. It turned around and   
looked at her with blank pleasant expression.  
"Do you need something?" he asked politely as she pulled him down toward   
her.  
"Yes," she said simply, silencing any further niceties with a kiss of her   
own. This time the chimera didn't pull away.  
  
Tes's magical sight was scanning quickly through the palace. She had to   
find the mazoku girl before she tried to kill herself again. It was proving   
difficult, Tes knew that she was in America and weak, but that was all she   
knew for certain. On a whim she sent the spell down into the dungeons. The   
Queen watched as the scrying pool showed the shifting motion. Then suddenly   
she halted the movement.  
Tes growled as she watched the scene in the scrying pool. She had   
underestimated the chimera-shadow. He apparently was involved more directly   
than she had thought. Much more direct, they were right in front of her,   
clothes scattered, caught in the heat of the moment, unware of the   
surrounding world. The Queen traced the little room out of the dungeon and   
then jabbed her hand into the scrying pool. The disturbance to the water   
ended the spell.   
  
  
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	15. Seductive Reflections

  
Reflections  
  
  
  
Seductive Reflections  
  
  
  
Amelia stared south towards the city of Sailoon far in the distance. Tomorrow was the Benediction. Tes would be expected to show herself to the masses. If Amelia and Gracia could appear beside her for that, then Tes would be revealed. It seemed that these last few months had already been plenty for her people. She doubted that they would take very long to believe that Tes was an imposter.  
Then Gracia would take the throne. Amelia thought about her sister. Justice gave the throne to her, but the woman who seemed to be her sister was a bit like Tes in some ways. Too many ways sometimes, but she seemed quite a bit less malicious. Maybe she'd make a good queen maybe not, it wasn't Amelia's place to say. Gracia, Naga, was next in line. Actually, that was relieving in a way.  
"You shouldn't be out here alone?" Amelia turned back to look at Xellos and smiled shyly.  
"I'm not alone, you've been watching me for the last half-hour." She pointed to where he had been perched.  
"How did you....?"  
"I always know when you're around," she said quietly. "Detecting dark presences and all that."  
"I see." He sat down next to her, Amelia leaned against him. "So you always knew?"  
"That you were mazoku? No, Lina....Lina set it off too." They remained silent for several moments. "What is it you want to talk to Filia about?" She felt him wince at the question.  
"A message Zelas wants me to give her."  
"And that's it?" Xellos smiled.  
"Are you jealous?" She smacked him in the head, playfully.  
"Don't pretend you're not empathic," she quipped.  
"If you insist," he smiled. "It's been on my mind recently what with Xenith pressing me about it all the time."  
"I know," the consistent urgings from Xenith had been giving her some concern. She had been wondering just what that was all about up to now. "So what do you want to ask?"  
"I'm not that obvious," Xellos said pouting  
"You've been watching me for half an hour and only now come out?" Xellos nodded reluctantly.  
"This is going to be a dangerous plan you and your sister have come up with."  
"It is the only way other than outright revolution. We have justice and the law on our side."  
"It might still come to fighting," he warned her. "Tes is no fool, the guard and army will have people of less desirable qualities than you remember."  
"Sounds like you'd like it."  
"Despair is not an emotion," Xellos noted. "It is what is left after emotions are burned out."  
"So the only reason you're helping is because the city doesn't help you either now, or perhaps to keep the other mazoku from its power?"  
"I have not been commanded to help you, this is my choice," he told her. "But I have to ask you something."  
"Hmmm?"  
"Would you accept the pledge of immortality?" Amelia stared at him and blinked. Xellos could feel nothing coming from her. She was shocked blank. "I would have waited to ask, but I'd like to be certain that you survive this." Xellos relaxed as a smile crept over Amelia's face. The princess leaned up to his face and kissed him on the cheek. Suddenly Amelia was certain of why she was relieved to not have to rule any longer.  
"Yes, Tomorrow before we go," she said, shifting to sit on his lap, facing him.  
"And what would we do tonight," Xellos asked, innocently enough. Amelia blushed and looked away a moment, before turning back to face Xellos and kiss him fully on the lips.  
  
~Rested?~  
"Yes," Sherra sighed pleasantly. She stood up and collected the concealing servants garments that she reluctantly used to skulk about the castle. At least she felt as rested as she could feel.   
After centuries of incredible strength, speed, raw power and sensory acuteness, she now felt weak, slow, mundane and blind. Which is why she doubted herself when she heard clodding footsteps in the cooridors of the dungeons.  
~Guardsmen, coming this direction and not stopping.~  
"He betrayed me!"  
~Whether he was or not they're coming.~ Sherra grabbed hold of the hilt as Duofolger flew to her hand.  
Stepping out of the small room she saw a small contingent of guards facing her.  
"The queen was right, there is a mazoku down here!" The cooridor rang with the sound of swords exiting sheathes. There was a bright flash of light and when it was gone only the sword was there, hanging in midair. "She's turned invisible!"  
The guards surged forward to battle against the sword and its invisible master, never noticing a ripple moving along the wall. Sherra turned to face the rather onesided battle, the sword still had near its full power after all, and padded quietly away. She passed into the hallways, where a servant was an average sight, and no one would pay her much mind.  
"She had been taking audience the last time," Sherra had chosen that time very specifically for that reason. She paused and grudgingly ducked to the side as a noble walked through the halls.  
"Don't just stand there, get to work!" the man shouted as he passed. Sherra felt like ripping his throat out, and she could do it. Even as weak as she was it would take an exceptional human to challenge her, not that simpering noble. She resisted though, such would draw attention to her, and she didn't need that.  
It didn't take long to find the throne room, and there she stopped cold. The entire room radiated magic, what with all the protection spells placed about. In fact Sherra felt moderately ill in the room. Pretty soon that feeling would be unbearable and she'd have to leave, but until then she was certain the pledge stone was in here. Its signature hidden by the mass of other signals. She walked cautiously to the throne itself, a rag in hand as if to clean the seat of royalty.  
"Black magic," she muttered. "Somewhere in here is an signature of black magic." She walked past the throne and started scanning the stone tiles and bricks surrounding it. She was close, she knew it was here somewhere.  
"My, you are getting quite unobservant," Sherra whirled at the voice and found herself facing Tes's smiling face. She had time to register this information before Amelia grabbed her throat and slammed her into the throne. Sherra landed on the floor and tried to shake her head clear as she felt the sensation of teleportation. She opened her eyes to Tes's bedroom. "I have another deal for you."  
  
"The Queen requires your presence in her rooms," the shadow-Zelgadis regarded the guard cautiously. Then he relaxed, Tes just probably got bored with the guards and servants again and wanted him for purely mundane reasons. She couldn't have known about Sherra, not so quickly anyway.  
"I shouldn't keep the lady waiting then should I," he said. He turned toward Tes's rooms and took up a steady stride. It was not lost on him that the guard followed, nor that he was joined by other guards. This was suddenly looking to be very bad news.  
The chimera was frowning as he entered the rooms, and suddenly felt sick with fear. Amelia was undressing to the side of the bed, on which a familiar humanoid form was huddled in the blankets. Sherra looked up at him hopelessly. The shadow angrily cast a fireball at the queen, and wasn't surprised to see it vanish against the field of Tes's immortality. Then the guards swarmed in and wrestled the chimera to ground before he could take any further action.  
"I appreciate your taste in women, dear," Tes said. "But if you were to share, it might be much less painful for you." She walked around the bed to where Sherra lay huddled in the sheets. The Queen sat down next to her and the mazoku shivered, but didn't shy away.  
"You are going to fall, Tes," the shadow-Zelgadis promised. Tes ignored him, running her hands through Sherra's hair.  
"Fortunately for you Sherra seems to hold some loyatly towards, strange for mazoku." She gathered the mazoku into her arms and kissed her. "Now be a good boy and leave quietly with the guards, or..." She twisted Sherra's arm, eliciting a grimace but no cry. "There's plenty I can do that won't risk killing her."  
"Aren't you going to say anything?" Zelgadis demanded of Sherra.  
"She's not allowed to speak for the moment." Tes explained, smiling. "Now then, you are dismissed. I have business to attend to." The guards escorted Zelgadis out of the room, dragging along the incredibly strong chimera. There were too many of them for the shadow-Zelgadis, however, and soon Sherra and Tes were alone. Unfortunately for Sherra.   
  
  
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	16. Seditious Reflections

  
Reflections  
  
  
  
Seditious Reflections  
  
  
  
"Well, here we are," shadow-Lina said quietly about the town, the virtually empty town. "Uh, where is everybody?"  
"Doesn't look like a town on the verge of revolution to me," Nuriko commented.  
"Lina-san?" she looked back at the shadow-Xellos. "SHE didn't come through here, did she?" the shadow-Filia scratched her head and walked over to one of the people starring at them.  
"Excuse me, but where is everybody?" the man glanced at the them all, confused.  
"Didn't all of you just head off for the capital?"  
"Huh," the shadow-Filia began anlysing that statement, leaping to conclusions was a bad idea. It was always a good idea to think things through and listen to advice from other people. "Ummm, do you think they've already know about it?" she turned and asked the others.  
"Well, I..."  
"So you're looking for people that look just like you three," Nuriko started. Filia nodded. "And you think we've already moved on to the capital."  
"Well, those two," the man pointed. "I don't remember seeing Celina there."  
"Well, looks like we missed them all right," Nuriko sighed.  
"So what do we do from here?" Filia asked.  
"Well, I'm going to check the inventory at the inn," Celina, the shadow-Lina said as she walked off demurely towards the building in question.  
"But aren't you at all concerned about the results of this revolution?" shadow-Xellos asked.  
"I'm sure they'll be fine, they have the law on their side after all."  
"I'm beginning to understand why the other Lina is freaked out by her," the shadow-Xellos commented.  
"She's an irritably straight-laced, whiny, pacifist," Nuriko grumbled.  
"Why are you here again?" the shadow-Filia asked.  
"Oh," Nuriko blinked, then glomped the shadow-Xellos. "I just had to come and protect Xelliekins! Damn it, she's gone." Nuriko dropped the gasping mazoku as he looked to the building Celina had vanished inside.  
  
The shadow-Zelgadis cracked his eyes open and drew an uneasy breath.   
He was humiliated, in pain, chained, and dirty. The first three he could understand, but the fourth was just too much an insult too bear. He was going to need a bath, perhaps several. Of course he had to escape first and then find Sherra, or perhaps the pledge stone first. Else it didn't matter how far away Sherra managed to get, Tes would always be able to reach her. He tested the chains briefly, and sighed. They gave a little at what he considered a slight tug.  
"Such poor workmanship," he said shaking his head. "The least they could do was chain me in manacles worthy of my greatness." He wrapped a length of chain around one wrist and pulled, ripping the chain out of the wall. He reached with the ow free hand and snapped the iron manacle about his other wrist. Soon he was unchained, but still clothed in rags and smelling of dried blood and sweat. Actually he smelled something like a mud-churned, blood soaked, battleground. It was quite...pungent, especially to his nose.  
"Yes, definitely a bath later, but other duties first." He walked to the barred door and pushed forward. These bars proved a little more resilient, plus he didn't want to bother with the physical exertion if he didn't have to. The lock quietly and swiftly melted into worthlessness and the warped bars just swung open.  
"I don't care what you say, I heard something breaking down he..." The speaker's voice trailed off as he and his partner dropped to the ground asleep. The shadow-Zelgadis reached down, drew one of the short swords, sniffed and dropped it again.  
"My thanks, but I think I'll wait for a weapon more suitable to me." He did collect one of their cloaks and walked out of the dungeon shrouded in it.  
  
"There aren't many people here for Sailoon," Filia noted. "Today is the Benediction of Royalty, correct?"  
"They will be out later," Amelia assured them.  
"If for no other reason than fear of Tes," Xellos whispered.  
"We don't want to attract attention," Zelgadis snapped quietly. Xellos smiled and Xenith shrugged while Amelia and Filia quieted down in embarrasment. Naga pulled a breath in and threatened to laugh but immediately stopped as all eyes turned toward her. The six of them traveled in heavy cloaks, just like any traveler that's long been on the road. The few people in sight didn't look up at them, and the guards were too lax and lazy to bother giving them a second glance. They had dice games to attend to, which never had been an uncommon site. Now, however, the dice games attracted more attention than their duty. They reached the palace easy enough.  
"You're certain that my shadow is here?" Zelgadis asked Xenith. The mazoku nodded irritably. Zelgadis stared at her, and then looked to Xellos who only smiled in his normal manner. "You better be right." He folded his hood back and they started walking to the palace doors. The guards stared at him, surprise and shock obvious on their faces.  
"How did he escape? Sound the alarm!" Zelgadis frowned and looked to Xenith.  
"I was right about him being here," she said sheepishly.   
  
  
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	17. Sudden Reflections

  
Reflections  
  
  
  
Sudden Reflections  
  
  
  
The Sailoon guards were not doing exceptionally well against the seven adventurers. To be perfectly honest, they weren't doing much more than slowing the slayers down by fractions of a second. That amount was mostly due to the fact that Amelia insisted they not kill anybody if it was possible.  
"Well scratch the first plan," Xenith mumbled. "Ow. That hurts, stop that. ow ow ow. Yawn."   
"I suppose...excuse me, would you mind?" Zelgadis turned and raised a wall in front of the oncoming guards. "Now, I suppose we could split up and look for Tes, then drag her outside along with Amelia and Naga."  
"Fine by me," Xenith shouted. "Come on, Gourry!" She grabbed the blonde swordsman and rushed down a hallway.  
"I have an idea of where to look," Amelia said, rushing down another hallway.  
"Excuse me, have to go," Xellos said smiling.  
"Hey wait a..." Zelgadis sighed. "Minute."  
"That leaves all the guards to us then! OHhohohohohohohohohohohohohohoho!!!"  
Filia and Zelgadis covered their ears.  
"Next move faster!" Filia said.  
"You could have said something."  
"Just take down the shield and let them hear that," she jabbed a finger at Naga. "I'm sure it'll send them running."  
  
"Where are we going?"  
"Away from Naga."  
"Huh?  
"The skimpily dressed woman with the wall-crumbling laugh?" Gourry covered his ears for a moment.  
"Oh...her."  
"Hey Gourry, what was.....Lina like?"  
"Why do you want to know?"  
"Everybody keeps talking about her..." she didn't say the rest, but she knew that her rapid reappearance put her inevitably in comparison to herself. It was a rather maddening situation. "...and you seem to know her the best."  
"Well she was loud," wince "Violent," wince. "Greedy," wince "Flat-chested." wince-wince. Xenith was standing behind Gourry gritting her teeth and holding the hilt of her sword tight enough to make her knuckles white. A guard passed through a doorway as Gourry passed it.  
"Dill Brand!" the guard went flying through the ceiling, landing maybe three floors up, dazed and fortunate that the explosion cleared the ceilings before he did. Xenith looked through the hole in the ceiling. "That was lucky."  
"She did that a lot too," Gourry said off-handedly.  
"I thought you liked her."  
"Of course I liked her," Gourry said. "I think I loved her."  
"Why?" Gourry turned around and scratched his head.  
"You sound angry."  
"Why would I be angry?" Xenith demanded stepping forward past the swordsman around a corner. Then she stopped, confused at seeing Zelgadis turn the other corner. "Hey what are you doing over...wait a minute....I recognize that sword."  
"Lina Inverse, perhaps?" Xenith stepped back in surprise.  
"Boy and they call me stupid," Gourry laughed. "Don't you recognize Xenith, Zel?"  
"That's not the real Zelgadis! Jellyfish brains!" Xenith yelled, unable to contain her frustration any longer she smacked him in the head. Gourry sat up from where he fell and considered things.  
"This explains the explosions," the shadow-Zelgadis said. He watched her cautiously, Xenith did likewise fingering the sword that was formed from her own mazoku power.  
"How did you....Sherra recognized my spellcasting."  
"Perhaps, she never really said," he glanced about for a moment. "You haven't seen the little demon have you?"  
"I'll get to Sherra after I hand Tes her heart."  
"Actually I was talking about Tes, and we'll have to draw the line at Sherra."  
"We...oh yeah, him." She glared at the sword.  
"Hey you are Lina!" Lina and the shadow-Zelgadis face-faulted.  
"Jelly-fish brains!!!"  
  
"The royal chambers?" Xellos commented. "Do you expect to find her here."  
"I'm not really that naive am I?"  
"Actually, most of us think so." Amelia sighed. "That means you must have realized that Tes probably made the pledge of immortality with....Sherra." The name came out with more than a hint of distaste as they entered the room. The mazoku began gathering power into his hands.  
"Wait!" Xellos looked at Amelia curiously. "There's something wrong here."  
"If Sherra dies, Tes dies, problem solved." Amelia ignored him and walked to the bed where Sherra lay huddled. Certainly she recognized the look of someone that cried themselves to sleep. Amelia started to reach a hand out and then pulled back. "What's the....that's odd you'd think in this place she'd be feeding a little better. It explains why she's asleep though" Amelia looked at him curiously and shook the mazoku awake.  
Xellos immediately felt the other mazoku's emotions come flooding back into her. Not the smug satisfaction he expected, but humiliation and despair. Then as she cracked open her eyes and saw Amelia, terror and revulsion. Mazoku shouldn't feel terror except to the Lord of Nightmares, Shabrinigdo, and their masters, him and Xenith excepted, of course. Juuou-sama didn't really buy into the rule by terror bit. Sherra glanced at Amelia and seemed to relax a little, but even Amelia could tell it was at an unspoken command.  
"I'm not her, look," she turned both cheeks to Sherra. "No scar see? And there's Xellos over there." Sherra looked and then sat up in the bed and backed against the wall.  
"Its a trick," Sherra whispered, then glanced anxiously at Amelia.  
"The only reason you're not dead is she stopped me," Amelia snatched at the mazoku's hand, and cringed inwardly at Sherra's tense reaction.  
"Come on," she said. "I'm not Tes, and if you're truly this afraid of her," she glanced at Xellos who nodded, somewhat shocked at the developement. "You can tell us where the pledge stone is." Sherra looked at her curiously for a few seconds before shaking her head vigorously and pulled her hand out of Amelia's grasp.  
"We don't have time for this," Xellos insisted moving forward and sweeping Sherra up.  
"Xellos, be careful with her," Sherra gripped a wall carving trying, avoid being taken out of the room. "You said your..." A few steps after Xellos managed to get Sherra out of the room the mazoku started screaming as a darkness surrounded her. The screaming lasted for a half thirty seconds before the darkness faded away and Sherra lay limp in Xellos's arms, eyes rolled back in her head and mouth hanging open.  
"How...?"   
  
  
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	18. Severed Reflections

  
Reflections  
  
  
  
Severed Reflections  
  
  
  
"Gourry let go of me, we're about to have a fight!!"  
"Oh Lina! I know you weren't dead, I always knew it."  
"I was dead! I mean Lina is dead, I'm just her soul reincarnated!"  
"Well if you too need to catch up on old times, I'll.."  
"RAYWING!" The shadow-Zelgadis lifted off the ground and stood there.  
"Don't you go anywhere!" Xenith shouted. "Gourry let go of me!" Then a   
scream split the air.   
"What was that?" Xenith asked as the scream distracted them all.  
"Sherra," the shadow-Zelgadis asnwered reluctantly.  
"But I thought Sherra was mazoku or something," Gourry said.  
"She is, so what's up?"  
"Tes made the pledge of immortality with Sherra," the shadow explained.  
"So that's Tes screaming then," Xenith sighed. "Oh well, she deserves   
whatever she get. I just hope the blue-girl leaves something for..."  
"No, that is Sherra screaming," the shadow-Zelgadis said.  
"Huh, why would she be screaming?"  
"Tes corrupted the pledge," he explained. "She revealed this just after   
Sherra returned in her failed attempt to capture you."  
  
Sherra stopped in mid charge, doubling over in horrendous pain as a dark   
miasma rose from her physical form and drifted toward the pledge stone,   
toward Tes. The shadow-Zelgadis backed away from the madly cackling queen as   
the darkness flowed out of Sherra into Tes. Then it was finished and the   
light slowly returned to the room.   
  
"Your saying that Tes stole all of Sherra's power?" Xenith asked.  
"Is that bad?"  
"Well its not as much power as me and Xellos, but."  
"But she's immortal as well, at least as long as the pledge stone exists."  
"After that I managed to hide Sherra in the bowels of the dungeons, until   
last night at least. One more day and perhaps she would have been safe."  
"Wait a minute, does this mean you and Filia are breaking up?" the   
shadow-Zelgadis and Xenith both facefaulted.  
  
"Where'd that come from?" Zelgadis demanded, pausing in his fight.  
"Amelia and Xellos went in that direction," Filia noted. "What's over   
there?"  
"Oh nothing but the royal chambers," Naga answered. "A boring bunch of   
rooms in dire need of some redecorating. OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!!!" Everybody   
covered their ears and the guards dropped their weapons cowering on the   
ground.  
"AGGHH! I can't take it any more, we surrender!!! Just make her stop   
laughing!!!!!!" Zelgadis and Filia sweatdropped.  
"Naga, would you mind perhaps watching these prisoners while we check on   
that scream?" Filia asked. Naga turned around to see a dust trail.  
"Why do people do that around me? They must all be terrified of the   
power of the Great Naga! OHOHOHHOOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH!!!!"  
"Please stop it!! We've surrendered all ready!"  
  
"Foolish girl," Tes laughed. "She didn't really think I'd miss her   
trying to escape." She returned to planning what she was going to do. If it   
weren't for the mazoku it would be simple, just destroy them all. She didn't   
know if she could beat the new Lina or Xellos both however. At the heart of   
it all there was the basic fact that she was terrified.  
"Wait a minute," Tes said. "If they found Sherra...then." Tes's eyes   
flew wide, they had no reason to protect tha mazoku, even if they didn't know   
about the pledge. She teleported to the hallway outside of her room.   
Further down the hall two figures stopped walking and turned around.  
"You," Xellos snarled "We were looking for you." He launched a bolt of   
blue energy at the scarred shadow. It met the aura of immortality about the   
shadow and shattered. Tes experienced a sudden pick up in confidence.  
"Is that all you can do?" Xellos smiled.  
"Sore wa himitsu desu," he smiled. His smile deepened and he cracked   
open an eye as fear started to reassert itself in the girl.  
"You have a couple things that belong to me."  
"So this IS your doing!" Amelia shouted. "First you try to...rape me,   
then you have Lina killed, and then you torture your own ally."  
"Sherra isn't my ally, she's my property. And last night she proved   
herself to be at least as...entertaining as you are Ame-chan."   
Xellos recalled the humiliation and terror that Sherra had been   
emanating. He cracked open his eyes to slits and glared at the shadow   
Amelia. Tes took a step back and Xellos smiled. Amelia herself was   
glowering at Tes righteously.  
"Such a cowardly little girl you are," Xellos said.  
"I brought a dark lord's general to her knees," Tes boasted. "What   
coward would dare that."  
"How could YOU have ever been created from ME!" Amelia shouted and power   
began to grow in her hands. "BLAM BLAZER!!" The spell rocketed forward and   
erupted around the Tes. The shadow smiled at first and then winced as some   
small amount of energy leaked through and struck her. She took two steps   
back and gazed at Amelia in shock.  
"I gave Amelia the pledge," Xellos explained, lying Sherra down on the   
ground. "And I've always been much more powerful than Sherra."  
"Is allying with the mazoku just, Ame-chan?" Tes asked nervously.  
"You fiend, you don't know anything about justice!" Amelia shouted. "I   
should have given you over to a magistrate instead of letting you leave."  
"Well, we all have our regrets don't we."  
The sound of footsteps attracted Tes's attention, the shadow whirled to   
see Filia and Zelgadis appear in another hallway. Tes started to sweat, then   
she smiled.  
"I don't see Lina with you," she said.  
"Of course not, you had her killed," Zel growled. Filia swallowed   
sharply but didn't say anything.  
"And now she's afraid to show herself, mazoku or not," Tes laughed.   
"Find me again when she's with you, I'm not interested in fighting you all   
one at a time." Tes vanished away from them.  
"What did she mean by that?"  
"She's crazy what does it matter?" Filia suggested. Zel looked at her   
sharply.  
"Xenith isn't just any resurrected human, is she," the chimera asked.  
"Xenith used to be hu..." Xellos frowned momentarily at a sound in the   
back of his head.  
"Xellos, is something wrong?" Amelia asked.  
"Juuou-sama is laughing at me," he said.  
  
"Are you certain its here?"  
"What reason do I have to lie?" the shadow-Zelgadis asked.  
"Well none, but every time I ask that there's this really tasty surge of   
fear," Xenith said. "The real Zelgadis just gets irritated."  
"Only Lina could be worried about a meal at a time like this," Gourry   
sighed.  
"Its not as if it gets in the way, Gourry, and I'm not Lina anymore."   
Suddenly there was a huge upswing of anger, hate and then fear in the room.   
"Now THAT is a meal, wait a minute."  
"You!!!" Tes screeched. Xenith whirled around and snarled.  
"You.." she growled taking a step forward and assuming her mazoku form.   
Strong wings carried her up to where Tes levitated above them. "I'm going to   
rip your heart out of your body and RAM it down your throat."  
"I'm not going to waste my time on you right now," Tes laughed. She   
blinked out of sight and the reappeared next to a the stairs leading up to   
the throne and lifted a loose tile. She turned to the shadow-Zelgadis.   
"Perhaps you can take care of my Sherra for a while." She almost missed   
Gourry's approach, turning to face the swordsman and dodging out of the way.  
"Get the stone Gourry!" Xenith shouted. "Fireball!" Tes screamed and   
then blinked out of sight before the fireball exploded. "Hey! Wimpy Zel, do   
something!" Gourry and Lina turned about to charge at Tes.  
"BLAM BLAZER!!!"  
"Gourry!" as she expected the raven winged mazoku dodged in the attack's   
way. Tes smiled as Xenith tried to shake off the attack, she was no where   
near death, but the attack had caused signifigant, and unlikeable, pain. She   
looked down at the hole in her stomach, it was curious to know that such a   
hideous looking injury would heal over a couple of days or less.  
"Lina!!!"  
"Predictable," Tes sneered, she turned to boast at the shadow-Zelgadis   
and eyes snapped wide. Reflexively she raised the tablet to block the sword   
strike and too late realized her mistake. "Damn you!" Tes shouted as she   
teleported away one last time, a blackness forming around her. As she   
vanished the small portion of the pledge stone that had been sliced off   
landed on the ground.  
"I'm fine Gourry."  
"There's a hole in your stomach!"  
"Remember when Garv ripped Xellos in half?"  
"Which one was Garv?" Xenith growled and glanced at the shadow-Zelgadis.  
"Hey, good job," she shouted. "Didn't think you had it in you." Which   
is about the point that the shadow-Zelgadis toppled backwards looking   
stricken.  
"I can't believe I'm not dead." He whispered.  
  
"She's doing it AGAIN!" Amelia screeched as the darkness appeared around   
Sherra.  
"Who's doing what?" Filia asked.  
"No, this is different," Xellos said. Sherra suddenly seemed to take a   
deep breath, odd only in that as a mazoku she didn't need to breathe. Her   
eyes opened slowly, and the flood of emotions returned. This time there was   
something new, hope.  
"I'm free," she whispered. Then the darkness started to fade away. She   
sat bolt upright. "NO!! NOT YET! I want it ALL back!" As the darkness left   
completely she slumped against the wall. The bulk of her former power was   
still gone. "She's still alive." She stared at the wall and shivered.  
"What was that?" Zelgadis asked. Sherra perked up as he spoke and turned   
to stare at him.  
"Zel-" she stopped as she saw how the dragon maid was standing near him.   
She stared in shock for a moment. Xellos arched an eyebrow as he felt the   
emotions waving off of the blue-haired mazoku, she was about to break   
completely.  
"I suppose the other Zelgadis is in a jail cell," he sighed.  
"Other Zelgadis?" Sherra asked, then she remembered, and sighed,   
relieved. "That's right, other Zelgadis."  
"Is something wrong with you?" Filia did the best she could to keep the   
distaste from her voice, but this was a mazoku after all, and one that had at   
one time been their enemy. Sherra whirled to glare at her.  
"If you're ever....if a mortal ever...." she spoke quietly, then she   
turned silent. Amelia watched her remorsefully.  
"Put me down!"  
"Are you certain its up this way?"  
"Gourry, I can walk!"  
"I can stick my arm all the way through you." Everybody turned towards   
the voices as the other Zelgadis appeared looking rather bedraggled.  
"Listen, Jelly-fish brains! I'm mazoku, this is a SMALL wound!" Gourry   
appeared then, carrying Xenith, now in her human form.  
"Hello Lina," Xellos said cheerfully. Xenith stopped complaining to   
Gourry and blinked before throwing up her hands.  
"Great now EVERYBODY knows."  
"How could you keep that from us!" Amelia demanded.  
"Juuou-sama said..."  
The shadow-Zelgadis, noticed Sherra behind the other slayers and walked   
towards her. Among them all was the only one not paying attention to the   
newcomers. He sat down in front of her and handed her a piece of stone.  
"Milady," he said. She looked at him, scanned the hall and found the   
real Zelgadis, and then looked at him again. Then she embraced him tightly,   
weeping, ignoring the stone.  
"Of all the romantic nonsense," the real Zelgadis grumbled quietly.   
There was a sound somewhat resembling a thunderclap and the chimera looked up   
to see the other three females in the room regarding him angrily. "But then   
again, what do I know."  
  
Tes struggled to her feet, trying to catch her breath. The pledge stone   
was split. Her hold over Sherra was gone, as was some of the power she had   
stolen. Most of it she still held, however, enough to build on. Humans   
could get quite powerful, she had memories that proved this. She would find   
a way to take vengence on them all. There had to be a way. She smiled then   
as an idea came to her.  
"Perhaps some research is in order." Tes wondered just how much was left   
over from Lina's confrontations with Rezo and Phibrizzo.   
  
  
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	19. Surreal Reflections

  
Reflections  
  
  
  
Surreal Reflections  
  
  
  
Xenith regarded the looks on the other slayer's faces. Amelia's   
expression radiated joy and amazement, similar to Gourry, but without the   
protectiveness. Zelgadis looked hurt and reproachful, while Filia was   
apologetic. She realized with a start that they were suddenly reacting to   
her as if she were Lina. They didn't understand, but she buried that, it   
wouldn't do to let them know how that disappointed her. Xellos was looking   
at her with a hint of pride and some sympathy.  
"Okay, what's the next step?" Xenith demanded irritably.  
~They don't understand.~ She directed to thought to both Xellos and   
Zelas. ~I'm not Lina, am I?~ The equivilent of a mental shrug came from her   
brother.  
~I was born a mazoku, don't ask me about what's going on.~  
~Don't worry about, child, they'll figure it out. And if they don't you   
can always use it to your advantage.~ It wasn't what she wanted to hear.   
She didn't want to be accepted for her past self, even if she was still Lina,   
a distinct possibility depending on how you defined individuality. She   
wanted to be accepted by them as she was now.  
~Well played by the way,~ Xellos commented her. ~I didn't suspect that a   
newborn could fool me so thoroughly.~  
~Thanks.~ At least her new family accepted her, that was something.   
Amelia blinked, and was watching her curiously. Xenith cocked her head in   
confusion at the princess.  
"Li...Xenith," Gourry altered the name as he saw the mazoku turn to face   
him. "You still haven't explained why you didn't tell us who you are."   
Zelgadis slapped his head.  
"Again: Juuou-Sama said not to, now back to the problem at hand," she   
said.   
"We won't be able to find Tes for a while yet," Zelgadis said.  
"And we have to make sure my sister's coronation goes off correctly,"   
Amelia insisted.  
"I actually wasn't talking about Tes this time," Xenith noted, glancing   
at Xellos.  
"Yes, there's a rogue mazoku to consider here," Xellos agreed. Amelia   
gasped as she looked up at her oath-bound.  
"You aren't suggesting we destroy her!" Amelia demanded.  
"I think that we have to at least take into account what she's been   
submitted to under Tes's 'care'." Zelgadis nodded, sitting in a chair off to   
the side next to Filia.  
"Not even a namagomi like you would further torture such a poor girl,"   
Filia sniffed. Xellos and Xenith in tandem arched an eyebrow.   
"Don't do it L...Xenith."  
That "poor girl" had slaughtered thousands more innocent than even the   
old Amelia in her life time. The main reason Xellos was so shocked was the   
simple audacity of so tormenting a mazoku. Xenith had no such illusions   
about superiority, having faced the demon lord itself while she was mortal,   
but felt only the barest sympathy for the blue-haired mazoku that had   
attempted to kill her. That last sympathy was more out of her mutual hatred   
for the woman responsible for Sherra's current condition.  
~Perhaps we can use her.~ Xellos noted.  
~She tried to kill me. In our position neither her, or the other   
servants of Dolphin and Dynast would hesitate to kill us.~  
~True, but we're not Grausherra or Dolphin,~ they felt Zelas's smile.   
~She's a wolf without a pack, if she wishes she can join ours. Otherwise   
well, she knows the otherwise as well as us.~ Amelia was glancing up at them   
curiously.  
~Hey, can she hear us?~  
~Maybe some whispers.~ Zelas gave one of those curious mental shrugs.   
~Her and Xellos's connection is....unique.~ Xellos smiled enigmatically.   
Nobody really noticed Amelia blush slightly.  
"No, we're not going to kill her," Xellos said suddenly. "But we have to   
do something with her."  
"Do you think she'd accept joing our family?" Amelia asked.  
~How...?~ three mazoku blinked all at once.  
"Why would the Sailoon family accept a mazoku," Zelgadis demanded.  
"Not MY family," Amelia corrected. She pointed between her and the two   
mazoku. "Our family." Filia, Zelgadis and Gourry face-faulted.  
"Our..." Filia started. "What do you mean by....you and him!"  
"You missed that?" Xenith asked sarcastically. Smiling, close-eyed at   
the dragon-priestess. Filia sniffed at the question and mumbled something   
about "corruption of the innocent."  
"Yeah, last night, before we left for here," Amelia admitted.  
~How much did you hear?~ Xenith directed the thought toward Xellos.  
~Why are you...~  
~All of it.~ Three mazoku face-faulted and Amelia giggled while the   
remaining slayers tried to figure out what had happened. "Oh, I'm sorry, was   
that supposed to be a secret?"  
~Why didn't you tell me this after last night?~  
~Wanted to wait for just the right moment.~  
~Why is that?~  
~Well, after all the times that you've kept me in the dark, I felt that I   
required some...~  
~Payback~ Xenith stated dryly.  
~Just retribution,~ Amelia smiled at them.  
"I think we're missing something," Gourry noted as they stared at the   
seemingly silent trio.  
"Almost definitely," Zelgadis agreed irritably.  
"Would you three please TALK as is proper?" Filia demanded.  
~I LIKE her!~ Zelas declared. ~Way to go Ame-chan!~  
~Thank you...do I call you mother-in-law or something?~  
~Juuou-sama, that's what they call me.~  
~Okay.~ it was a cheerful thought. ~Thanks Juuou-sama.~  
Xellos glanced and Xenith and then Amelia.  
~This is odd.....good....but odd."  
"What is going on here!" Filia shouted. "I demand to be answered."   
Three faces turned to look at the dragon.  
"Sore wa himitsu desu," all three smiled cheerfully. Filia and Zelgadis   
narrowed their eyes irritably.  
"So what are we doing with Sherra again?" Gourry asked.  
"She's going to is going to be given a choice," Xellos told them, and   
left it at that.  
~By the way, Xenith,~ Amelia noted. ~Find a robe or something, that   
injury is scaring people, and you've had enough feeding.~  
~Ahhh...~ both present mazoku whined at the thought of all the lost meals.  
  
"We should leave," the shadow-Zelgadis insisted. Sherra refused to   
stand, she was strong enough to not even be budged by the effort.  
"This is my best chance," Sherra grumbled. "Dynast's minions won't hunt   
me, but they'll kill me on sight. Once Dolphin hears she might decide that   
I'd make a fun mouse to play with. Not too mention the fact that I'm still   
weak enough that a lot of mortals could conceivably kill me."  
"So how is this your best chance?" the shadow-Zelgadis asked. "You tried   
to kill one of them. You helped that....beast before she turned on you. We   
both did. We're the enemy."  
"The Metalliums have the complaint against me," Sherra whispered. "They   
are the only ones that can take me in without invoking retribution. My   
service could be their price."  
"So instead of being a slave to Tes, you'd be a slave to the metalliums,"   
Zelgadis asked.  
"This wouldn't be like Tes," Sherra shook her head. "But it won't   
matter, they probably will kill me." The shadow-Zelgadis lifted her head and   
kissed her, Sherra's eyes popped wide and she hesistantly returned the kiss,   
burying memories of that....woman-thing's touch last night.  
"I can come back later," they turned to see an irate Xenith. "But might   
as well get this over with."  
"Get what over with?" The shadow-Zelgadis asked nervously.  
"You have a choice, " Xenith said simply. "Accept the Metallium name and   
blood or...." She let it trail off, shrugging as if bored. The dark-haired   
huntress was siting on a dresser appearing to be filing her nails.  
"I...accept..." she sighed. Xenith jumped down from the dresser and   
walked over.  
"You know how this goes right?" she asked, receiving an insulted glare   
from the mazoku. "Just checking."  
"Can I," the shadow-Zelgadis coughed. "Can I accept too?" Sherra gasped   
and looked at him, smiling quietly. Xenith seemed to ponder this for a   
moment before shrugging.  
"My decision?" she muttered. "Fine with me."  
Xenith shifted smoothly into her mazoku form and shoved a clawed hand   
into Sherra's body, then twisting to slash through the shadow-chimera's stone   
skin. A black nimbus appeared around the three of them, and then circling   
around.  
Sherra and the shadow lay dying from the wounds, their spirits opened and   
loose, prepared to receive the mazoku power. In Sherra's case it was more of   
a recharging, but it was a changing experience for both. Cold ice and the   
winter's thunder was absorbed into the wild instincts now making themselves a   
part of her. She no longer felt like the snow storm, but more like the beast   
that stalked the storm. At least she was already mazoku though, and the pain   
was minimal.  
The shadow-Zelgadis was not so lucky, his entire being was racked with   
pain as his body was being rebuilt. Matter converted to energy and infused   
with the same wild, hunter's instincts as Sherra next to him. He also sensed   
something of the chill wind as Xenith apparently cycled some of Sherra's   
original essence into him. He held out from screaming by remembering the   
torture he had gone through the day before. It was nothing like this, but it   
kept him through until the end. Zelgadis failed to notice the stone across   
his skin retreating, or his hair turning a wild snowy white to compliment,   
complementing Sherra's icy blue.  
When it finally ended, the one thing that surprised Sherra the most was   
the pack instinct. In the Grausherra line lesser mazoku were servants and   
minions. Now, she felt like...family. She looked up in amazement as   
Zelgadis coughed and sat up weakly.  
~Welcome to the...~  
~Ahem~ Sherra's eyes bugged as Xenith interrupted their master.  
~Yes, what is it?~  
~You weren't about to rename Sherra, were you?~ Xenith tapped her foot.   
~I seem to remember you saying that she's my responsibility.~  
~But I have such cute names in mind.~ Zelas whined. Sherra blinked, a   
dark lord, whinning?  
~Juuou-sama.~ Xenith growled mentally. Zelas laughed and Sherra had an   
impression of her waving a hand.  
~So what are you going to name them then?~  
~Sherra and....Sauron Metallium.~ They blinked at her. The young   
general snapped at them. ~I'm not going around calling you shadow-Zelgadis   
for the rest of our lives.~  
"Of course not, Xenith-sama," the newly named Sauron answered aloud. The   
titled seemed natural to use for some reason. Sherra blinked in wonder, she   
wasn't a general or priest anymore, but this felt better. She felt, safer   
than she had. Staring up at Xenith, the pack's raven, and then glancing at   
Sauron she felt she belonged and embraced him cheerfully.  
"Yeah, yeah," Xenith waved her hand irritably. "We have work to do."  
  
"Did you feel that?" the shadow-Xellos asked nervously. Nuriko turned to   
stare at the fearful mazoku, and sweatdropped. He wondered for a moment just   
how a being of such power could be so totally afraid of everything that   
moved. The extra-dimensional visitor rolled his eyes and scanned the room.   
Lina, the man-stealing Lina he knew, not the so-called original, was off   
somewhere checking on her business in this village. She was probably trying   
to see how much better she could afford to pay people, Nuriko rolled his eyes   
at the girl's apparent lack of business sense. Filia was still in her room   
trying out a variety of new looks.  
"Listen, Xellie," he started again. "We went through this before."  
"But that rabbit had nasty, sharp pointy teeth!"  
"Whatever." Nuriko went back to waiting for Lina. They should have left   
by now, and he wanted to get this little jaunt over with and back home to   
convince Hoto-Hori how wrong for him his current wide was. Lina was   
certainly not getting jealous of his advances on this Xellos person.  
A hooded girl glared at the two of them from just outside the door. She   
narrowed her eyes and growled. She did, however, take the time to note the   
aura about the effeminate appearing man. He was from another dimension, she   
was certain of it. Suddenly the girl smiled and chuckled evilly as she faded   
away from sight. She needed new....support, now she had an idea of where to   
look.  
"Whew, its gone now," the shadow-Xellos said, relieved. Nuriko quickly   
wondered if the mazoku could live forever on his own fear, and then went back   
to drumming his fingers in utter boredom. He was managing to drill a hole in   
the table.   
  
  
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	20. Sailoon Reflections

  
Reflections  
  
  
  
Sailoon Reflections  
  
  
  
"Hey Xenith, you don't have a hole in your stomach anymore," Gourry shouted. Xenith looked down and shrugged, she'd been fed enough to "heal" it for a while, but it had been producing such wonderful meals.  
"Well if Amelia wasn't going to let me..." she blinked as she noticed something he had said. There was a flicker of something that she thought might have been amusement, but this was Gourry, most things amused him to some degree. Xenith thought that might be one of the benefits to ignorance. "Hey...you called me Xenith!"  
"Isn't that your name?" Gourry scratched his head in confusion.  
"But you've BEEN calling me Lina," Xenith was confused.  
"Oh...she was a...friend of mine," Gourry said sadly. "You know that you remind me a lot of her?" Xenith gritted her teeth and growled.  
"How could you forget that I AM...err..I mean...WAS.." Xenith growled. ~He FORGOT about me!~ Xenith ruthlessly buried the mazoku urge to rip Gourry to shreds.  
"Gotcha..." Gourry smiled at her. Xenith looked at him blankly for a moment, before narrowing her eyes.  
"Don't DO that!" she shouted. "I could have KILLED you for forgetting me!"   
"No you couldn't," Gourry said.confidently. "You never even kill all the bandits you fight. I don't know why you want to call yourself Xenith, but you're still Lina." Xenith stared at him quietly for a moment.  
"Gourry, I want to show you something," she said quietly.  
"Okay, sure," Gourry shrugged as Xenith reached out to take his hand. The world flickered out around them and then returned, Gourry recognized when of the thick forests that surrounded the capital city of Sailoon. "What are we doing out here?"  
Xenith didn't even bother to walk, she teleported to top of a gentle rise and silently beckoned for Gourry to follow. As he topped the rise she merely pointed down to what had been a bandit camp. Gourry didn't particularly see anything surprising about the scene of carnage down there. At least not yet.  
"So, I've seen you destroy other bandit groups," he said unconcerned.  
"Notice anything about the remains, Gourry?" Xenith asked.  
"Yeah, no smoke, no burns," he shrugged. "What kind of magic did you use?"  
"I didn't use magic," Xenith answered. "Or much in the way of mazoku powers. I fought."  
"Why'd you do that?" Gourry asked. "Wouldn't it be easier to just blow them to pieces."  
"Its over too fast, hope dies, and they stop caring enough to produce ANY emotions," Xenith said, looking for something in particular. "You know, like burnt food, you can only eat a part of it. The feeding is so much better when they think they can win."  
"Okay, so you were eating then," Gourry shrugged, he didn't really understand this whole feed on emotions thing, but it still was a still a necessity thing. Xenith stopped in front of a tree and nodded.  
"Here it is," she said, and gestured to the tree as she unblocked his view. A body was tied to the tree, he had seen it before but not this close. "He was nearly the last, I took my time with him."  
The man had been killed slowly and very painfully. Not Lina's flash fry method, this man had been tortured. Looking at Xenith he could tell she wasn't worried about the man's death or even his manner of death. Of course Lina had never particularly cared about killing if she had to, but she had limits. Still, what seemed to be worrying Xenith the most was Gourry's response to this.  
"There are three more bodies in the forest," Xenith explained. "I let them escape for a little hunting after I took apart their friend. Would Lina do this?" Gourry examined the corpse a little closer and noted the glints of gold here and there. Looking about he saw treasure lying in a number of places.  
"What about all this gold?" Gourry asked. Xenith stared at him confused and then looked around.  
"Never really thought about it," she shrugged. "I guess the stuff could be useful sometime though." That, more than anything else, convinced Gourry of the possibility that her protests were accurate, that she wasn't Lina. He looked at her cautiously, as if appraising her anew. Xenith slumped.  
"You understand now, don't you," Xenith whispered.  
"Yeah, I think I do," Gourry said. Xenith sighed and turned around, the wings grew out of her back and furled at fully. Her skin took on an alabaster paleness as she grew a few more inches. The "clothes" warped to accomdate the new flesh, as she reabsorbed the energy construct short sword into her body as a whole.  
"This is me, Gourry," she said turning back to him, gesturing over one of her horns. Each finger ended in a long, thin black fingernail, more claws than nails actually. "Lina Inverse died, stabbed to death in the street because she got careless. I'm Xenith Metallium, general of the dark-lord Zelas. We should be getting back."  
"Xenith," Gourry started seriously. Xenith faced him nervously, keeping her face neutral. She felt the ripple of anxiety as Gourry opened his mouth for his next question. "Did you know that your breasts are bigger in that body?" Xenith face-faulted.  
"GOURRY!!!!" she yelled. "How could you think about something like...mmph!?!" She blinked, surprised as Gourry bent down and kissed her. A little probing of his emotions indicated that he was sincere. She returned the kiss and wrapped her arms and wings around him, restraining herself from using her full strength to crush the man. They parted quietly and stared at each other, smiling.  
"I'm willing to bet that you're more Lina than you think you are," Gourry said. Xenith kept a cheerful expression on her face, as she answered. He didn't trust her completely, she could feel that, at least she had succeeded in proving that she was different now. Now she had to regain all his trust.  
"Come on, let's get back," she said with a smile.  
  
The coronation was subdued, and a little watchful. This was the second coronation the country had had in a little over a year. At least this Queen couldn't possibly be as bad as the Amelia poseur.   
At least that was the general consensus, some people were already wondering it their problems under Tes's rule were actually due to Tes. If their were truly two Amelia's then why couldn't one of them arrange all sorts of atrocities under the guise of the real Amelia. Or else, the Queen had realized that the people were going to fight back and arranged a puppet revolution to place a figurehead on the throne.  
There was murmur of dissatisfaction running through the crowd. They were willing to give this new ruler a chance, but they were ripe for seeing fault. And now they had a load of self-confidence. After all they had forced Amelia to run, or Tes, or whoever it had been. They could handle Gracia.  
The mazoku held back in the shadows of the balcony as the felt this surge of emotions. A mix of hope, fear, joy and caution. They had to admit that it tasted very good. Unfortunately this was not something they were happy about. Sailoon was unstable, and that left some of their plans in danger. The lesser Metalliums knew that much from Zelas's mood, but none of them were yet certain of Juuou-sama's plans.  
Zelgadis and Filia saw the mazoku, four of them now, sitting out of the crowd's view with Amelia standing next to Xellos. Gracia was visible on the balcony waving to the crowds as the newly decorated Queen, dressed in proper robes, for the moment at least, and withholding that hideous laugh. Other than her, only Filia, Zelgadis and Gourry could be seen by the crowds below.  
As the celebration ended Gracia left to meet with her nobles and find out who could be trusted and who couldn't. Which, in Sailoon usually meant nobody with a title. The slayers had their own meeting.  
"I believe Tes is our problem now," Zelgadis said.  
"As soon as she shows herself," Xenith grumbled.  
"You are going to let that monster run free!?" Filia demanded shocked.  
"No, she's right," Amelia said. "How are we going to search a world for a girl that can teleport?"  
"Then what ARE we going to do?"  
"We're going to watch for her," Xellos said. "And as soon as she makes her move we're going to catch her."  
"In the meantime we have our own errands to run," Xenith smiled.  
"Oh, and what are we supposed to do in the meantime," Zelgadis asked.  
"Yes, well perhaps you could help with one of those errands," Xellos said. "At least Filia could."  
"Why would I help your master!?" Filia demanded.  
"Xellos wants a meeting with the dragon lords," Xellos said.  
"WHAT?!?!"  
  
In another world, another realm. I dark-haired girl with a long scar down her face stood over the site of a past battle. Somebody had died here, somebody powerful. Somebody who's essence remained strong and unbowed. The dead one had held off from reentering the source. She liked that, it meant he was strong.  
"Now all I need is a way to bring him back to life," Tes giggled, an innocent enough sound if one didn't know who she was."   
  
  
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